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Why two cricketing young guns should be on the plane to India

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Australia has a tour of India coming up next year. There are two faces fresh to the first-class cricket scene who could be on the plane there – and their game is marked by something that could be hugely beneficial to an Aussie test XI.

It’s a bit of a cliche to say it, but the future of Aussie cricket looks bright.

A new Sheffield Shield season is well and truly underway, and a couple of the season’s debutants have made big waves already.

Aged just 18 and 20, Teague Wyllie (WA) and Ashley Chandrasinghe (Victoria) have both hit their maiden first-class centuries this season, impressing many spectators and inevitably catapulting themselves into discussions among eager fans – ‘how soon could he be in a Baggy Green?’

The Australian cricket pecking order is certainly not short, with the likes of Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw already putting themselves back into test squad conversation with double tons to begin the season, and the incumbent test XI seeming relatively unchangeable.

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But Wyllie and Chandrasinghe have already displayed the mentality and temperament of test veterans in their time at the crease, and it could be something that catches selectors’ attention in the best way possible.

Wyllie’s maiden ton – 104 against Victoria in a team score of 258 – came from 204 balls, and he became the youngest Aussie batter since Ricky Ponting in the 1992/93 season to score a Sheffield Shield hundred.

This wasn’t even the most impressive aspect of Wyllie’s knock, with his and his teammates’ comments after the game catching the attention of many, drawing focus to his determined, no-fuss approach to batting.

One of the most notable things about Wyllie’s ton was the lack of carry-on upon reaching triple figures, as he didn’t even remove his helmet to celebrate the milestone.

After the day’s play, WA captain Sam Whiteman, speaking to ESPNCricinfo, shared an amusing statement that Wyllie made in the dressing room:

“He said ‘tax accountants don’t celebrate when they do their tax return, so I shouldn’t celebrate scoring a hundred.'”

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This focused, straight-to-work approach is something that, aside from impressing Aussie cricket fans, will undoubtedly attract favour from Australian coaches and selectors.

It’s not often you come across someone so young with such a high level of maturity in their game, but there’s even more from Wyllie’s innings that’s impressive.

He outlined that he’s modelled his batting style on Indian great Rahul Dravid, particularly for the value that the 164-test stalwart placed on his wicket.

Save for the obvious comparisons between Dravid’s nationality and the destination of Australia’s test tour in February and March, this is another batting characteristic that could again place Wyllie heavily in the selection frame for the tour.

The concept of a test tour to the subcontinent is often something that makes fans shudder – the pitches that are ‘raging turners’, with Australia seemingly prone to dramatic batting collapses in recent tours.

Here’s where Wyllie’s attitude to batting comes in – that determination to knuckle down and play a long innings is something that could prove incredibly valuable in the face of these conditions.

Chandrasinghe’s ton on debut for Victoria was just as good.

Batting at number three, the left-hander finished unbeaten on 119 from 333 balls, facing the likes of Peter Siddle and Jackson Bird in a strong Tasmanian bowling attack.

The difference, however, lies in his path to first-class cricket – while debuting at only a slightly older age than Wyllie, Chandrasinghe has forged his way to the level through hard work and plenty of runs.

He scored 423 runs at an average of 84.6 for Victoria’s Second XI in the 2021-22 season, a natural call-up due to his weight of runs, after fellow batting prodigy Will Pucovski decided to take a break from cricket to focus on his mental health.

A step up to Second XI cricket was again the natural progression from grade cricket, where he played for Casey-South Melbourne, scoring 1474 runs in the past two seasons.

Former Test quick and ‘Bowlologist’ Damien Fleming, who has previously been involved at the club as a high-performance consultant, shared some high praise for Chandrasinghe and his work ethic following his brilliant innings (via cricket.com.au):

“He’s someone who’s trying to constantly improve his game, not everyone is like that.”

Despite batting at first-drop in his state debut, Chandrasinghe has traditionally plied his trade as an opener, and given test incumbents David Warner and Usman Khawaja are both well into their thirties, Chandrasinghe could be one of the heirs to the position.

His willingness to work hard to improve his game, and work hard to score his runs, could again be a huge benefit for Australia’s test squad as the tour to India approaches.

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With more high-level experience behind them, Wyllie and Chandrasinghe both have plenty of opportunity to continue to make an impression on Australian selectors and coaches as this season rolls on.

Evidently, it’s early into both their careers, but both youngsters have left big impressions on the Sheffield Shield scene and Australian cricket fan base already.

It would certainly be a baptism of fire, but they’ve both arguably shown their capabilities to stand up to a task of such a magnitude – Teague Wyllie and Ashley Chandrasinghe on the plane to India in February could be a big benefit to Australia.

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