'He flustered India, there's no doubt about that'

Former Australia captain and the ICC Hall of Famer, Ricky Ponting doesn't think Sam Konstas can survive as an opening batter in the Test format.

The world wasn't ready to witness Konstas going all guns blazing on his debut when he stepped in front of a sold-out crowd in the Boxing Day Test.

With a ramp shot for a towering six over the head of Rishabh Pant, Konstas tonked the first maximum off the world's current best pacer, Jasprit Bumrah.

He continued to adopt the policy, firing on all cylinders on his way to a swift 60(65) before being pinned in front of the stumps by Ravindra Jadeja.

The quick-fire approach was a hit-and-miss for Konstas, considering his next set of performances. In the second innings, Bumrah pitched up a perfect inswinger to breach the gap between pad and bat to clean up Konstas.

On an unpredictable Sydney Test strip, it was Mohammed Siraj, who set him up in the first innings and Prasidh Krishan in the second.

"I don't think he can survive as a Test opening batsman playing like that all the time. So he will learn a lot from the first couple of games that he played as a batsman, but just as an international sportsman as well, I think he'll learn a lot," Ponting said on the ICC Review.

"It's a big stage and he really enjoyed it at the MCG. But I've seen this happen a lot with young players. They come in, they get overawed by everything a little bit, and it takes them a few games or a few series just to actually work out who they are and who they need to be successful international players," he added.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri advice to Konstas was to focus on his "strengths".

"I think it was more the exuberance of youth. He was like a cat on a hot tin roof. He wanted to announce himself straight away," Shastri told The ICC Review.

"There was a lot of talk. He's someone who'll take the attack to the opposition. And he wanted to walk the talk. And he did that," he added.

Shastri, who closely spectated the carnage that Konstas spread at the MCG, advised him to focus on his strength and express himself the way he likes.

"He flustered India, there's no doubt about that, in Melbourne. But my advice to him would be 'you've got talent, the focus should be on scoring runs more than anything else'. You focus on your strengths. You play the way you want," he said.

Konstas did enough to impress the Australian selectors and confirm his ticket to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test tour beginning at the end of this month.

"I think the tour of Sri Lanka in many ways will help. Getting out of Australia, playing overseas, and then getting to learn a lot of other things and maturing," he added.