Boxing Day Test: Teenage debutant Sam Konstas to bat first as India drop Shubman Gill in bombshell move

Teenage debutant Sam Konstas will be given his Boxing Day baptism of fire, with Australia batting first at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat in sweltering heat in Melbourne, meaning Konstas will walk to the crease with Usman Khawaja.

Konstas replaces axed opener Nathan McSweeney at the top of the order, with hometown hero Scott Boland in for Josh Hazlewood.

India dropped a bombshell, with No.3 Shubman Gill dumped from the side, with captain Rohit Sharma poised to fill the role.

Gill missed the first Test in Perth with a hand in jury and returned in Adelaide to score 31 and 28. He made just one in his only innings in Brisbane.

The visitors have picked two spinners, with Washington Sundar to partner Ravindra Jadeja, who will bat in the top six.

Sharma admitted he also would have batted first.

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor presented Konstas with his cap before the toss. The opener is about to become the fourth-youngest man to ever play Test cricket for Australia.

Curators have left good grass coverage on the wicket, which is expected to have plenty in it for bowlers, but could bake under the 40-degree temperatures tipped for the opening day.

“Looks good... looks firm,” Cummins said.

More to come