On Wednesday, December 25, the Australian National Cricket Team officially announced its line-up for the fourth Test match of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The fourth Test match of the five-match series between the Indian and Australian national cricket teams will be played on December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Also read: Former India head coach claims Travis Head gave Jasprit Bumrah belt treatment

BGT’s current record is 1-1

The current series between India and Australia is tied at 1-1. The Indian national cricket team, led by Jasprit Bumrah, started their tour of Australia with a crushing 295-run victory in Perth.

Meanwhile, Pat Cummins and Co. bounced back strongly in the second match, the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. They defeated the Rohit Sharma-led side to register 10 wins.

The third Test match was played in Brisbane and Australia showed absolute dominance with both bat and ball. However, heavy rain spoiled the match and the match ended in a draw, with Australia unable to win.

Trave is in great form and will play – Pat Cummins

Travis Head has been questioned for the fourth Test after suffering a minor quadriceps strain in Brisbane.

However, Pat Cummins confirmed that the left-handed batsman passed the fitness test and is fit to play. He elaborated:

“Traff is fine and he’ll play. He just did some final stuff today and yesterday. But no worries about Traf’s injury. He’ll go into the game fully fit. I don’t think you’ll see that throughout the game either. He’s going to play as he is, and if he’s a little uncomfortable, we’ll (manage him), but he’s completely healthy.

“It feels like he’s been in unbelievable form over the last 12 months and he’s just continued that form. He’s hitting the ball so cleanly. You can see he’s been hitting it right from the first ball Transferring the pressure back to the opponent he walks out.”

Pat Cummins added that they are lucky to have a player of Hyde’s caliber in the squad as bowling to him is quite difficult at the moment due to his fiery form. He said:

“I’m excited to have him on our team and I don’t have to try to set up the field and pitch for him. His ability to hit the ball is the best of anyone I’ve ever seen. Hopefully that continues.”

You just want to be in the game and have fun and not overthink it – Pat Cummins reveals to Sam Constas

19-year-old Sam Konstas will make his Test debut in Melbourne and open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja. Pat Cummins, who himself made his debut aged 18, said the message to the teenager was to have fun and not overthink. The Australian skipper elaborated:

“There’s a level of innocence where you just want to go out and play like you did in the backyard as a kid. You just want to accept the game and have fun and not think too much about it.

“That’s the message to Sam. That’s definitely how I felt as an 18-year-old kid. I’m really excited and once the game starts, you get into game mode, just like any other game.”

Pat Cummins further praised Scott Boland, who will replace Josh Hazlewood in the starting XI, who misses the series through injury. Cummins said Bolan is one of the best bowlers in the world and Australia is lucky to have him as a backup pacer. He said:

“He bowled beautifully in Adelaide. Whenever he got a chance, he stepped in and looked like he is one of the best bowlers in the world. I hope he (will) do the same. He loves bowling here and he’s probably bowled more than anyone else in our team at the MCG who is well prepared.”

Australia XI for fourth Test:

Usman Khawaja, Sam Constas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey ( wk), Pat Cummins (centre), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland