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Sam Konstas will open the batting line-up for Australia in the fourth Test against India, coach Andrew McDonald said on Tuesday, while expressing confidence that leading batsman Travis Head will be ready to play.

Konstas was called up after the selectors released Nathan McSweeney after just three tests. The 19-year-old was tasked with fending off Indian front-runner Jasprit Bumrah alongside an underperforming Usman Khawaja.

“He’s going to play Boxing Day,” McDonald told reporters, describing the teenager as “calm, relaxed.”

“We said from the beginning, right up until this summer, that we would not shy away from it and that age was not a barrier.

“What he has shown is a series of shots and the ability to put pressure on his opponents and he gets his chance.”

“Really excited for him – Boxing Day, the biggest stage.”

Konstas will be Australia’s youngest Test debutant since current captain Pat Cummins took the field against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2011

It could be a baptism of fire with 90,000 fans expected at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and temperatures expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on Thursday.

Konstas thrust himself into the limelight after becoming the youngest player since Ricky Ponting to score two centuries in the same Sheffield Shield game.

He also criticized a century while playing for the Prime Minister’s XI against India.

The five-match series is tied 1-1 after India won by 295 runs in Perth before being beaten by 10 wickets in Adelaide. The rain-affected third Test in Brisbane has been drawn.

Head is the series’ leading run-scorer and has scored aggressive centuries in both Adelaide and Brisbane. However, he suffered a minor hamstring strain at the Gabba.

McDonald said he expects to play, but Head still has “some things to sort out.”

“I’m pretty confident he’ll play,” he added.

“He was able to perform. I think he will be fully functional by the start of the game.”