Handscomb last featured for Australia on the 2023 tour of India where he played all four matches and is viewed as a subcontinent specialist given his prowess against spin. He made 145 runs in that series with a top score of 72 not out in Delhi, a Test Australia were well placed to win before a second-innings collapse against R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
However, he has previously spoken about how he does not want to be pigeon-holed as only a batter for certain conditions. “I’d like to play some home Tests,” he said before the start of the 2023-24 following his experiences in India.
Previously, speaking to cricket.com.au in 2022, Handscomb said: “If [being a good player of spin] does help me get on subcontinent tours, which it has done before, then that’s great. But also don’t forget I do like batting in Australia as well, where it is fast and bouncy and I can play a few cuts and pulls if need be.”
Overall Handscomb has played 20 Tests with an average of 37.20 having made is debut back in 2016.
Handscomb was overlooked for the Australia A-India A four-day matches earlier this season, but the indication was that he was a player the selectors felt they knew enough about.
He had a prolific 2024 across first-class cricket in Australia and England where he was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the world. In the first part of this Sheffield Shield season he has made 478 runs at 47.80.
If Australia win the ongoing Sydney Test they will assured of a spot in the World Test Championship final against South Africa, otherwise they would need to win one of the Tests in Galle.
1735718776-0/Tribune-N-(3)1735718776-0.jpg "Gautam Gambhir opens up on Rohit, Kohli’s future in Test cricket")
