Australian wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis is in contention to make his Test debut as a specialist batter in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, according to chief selector George Bailey.
Inglis has been in red-hot form in domestic cricket, scoring four centuries in his last seven Sheffield Shield matches. While he is Australia’s incumbent keeper in ODIs and T20Is, his impressive batting performances have put him in the mix for a Test call-up.
“There’s no doubt that the form is really fantastic at the moment… the ability to jump back into domestic cricket and dominate has been fantastic,” Bailey said. “I think in different series at different times of the year, he would firmly come into the mix purely as a batter the way he’s been going.”
However, with Australian Test wicketkeeper Alex Carey also in rich form, Inglis is unlikely to be considered for the wicketkeeping role. Instead, he is being eyed as a specialist middle-order batter.
“If the right opportunity opened up throughout the summer, in the spots where we think he’s most capable of performing, I think he’d be firmly in that conversation as well,” Bailey added.
Inglis’s emergence as a specialist batter comes at a time when Australia is looking to fill the vacant opening slot following David Warner’s retirement. However, Bailey ruled out Inglis for the opener’s role, saying that he is not being considered for that position in the short term.
“I’ve spoken to Josh on this. Not in the short term, I don’t think that he’s someone that we would be looking to place at the top of the order,” Bailey said.
Inglis is also a contender to lead Australia’s T20I side in the upcoming three-match series against Pakistan. However, all-format players, including regular T20 skipper Mitchell Marsh, are sitting out of the Pakistan series to prepare for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
