As Australia will be taking on India in the fifth Test with an aim to end their decade-long wait for regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, all eyes will again be on their new batting prodigy Sam Konstas, who took everyone by surprise through his unconventional batting approach in the recent Melbourne Test.

Konstas announced himself on the international scene with a quickfire 60, audaciously ramping India's premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for a six to become an overnight sensation after getting a place in the playing XI in place of Nathan McSweeney.

On Thursday, Australia announced their playing XI for the fifth and final Test where the 19-year-old was found retaining his place. Konstas will be up for new challenges as he looks to help Australia win the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15 and also guarantee them a place in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final. 

A win or draw in the Sydney Test, starting on Friday, will confirm Australia the Border-Gavaskar Trophy while a victory would also guarantee them a WTC final clash at Lord's against South Africa. 

Konstas may opt for a similar fearless approach in the Sydney Test as well in order to unsettle Indian bowlers once again, at least that's what could be ascertained from a recent chat between Bangladeshi journalists and his batting coach Tahmid Islam.  

"He is someone that plays on instinct. He plays with a lot of freedom. He doesn't really think of the consequences of what people are going to say if he gets it wrong," Tahmid, who instantly made headlines in the Bangladeshi media after the news broke out that the former List A player is the batting coach of Konstas, said in a zoom conversation arranged by his former club Prime Bank Cricket Club.

"Many players think about the consequences, like 'what if I fail doing it' or 'what if I get out playing it' or 'the media and coaching staff will have a go at me'. I think it is his biggest skill and asset [that he does not think about such consequences]," he added.

Only a week before his maiden Test, Konstas made his Big Bash League debut for Sydney Thunder in a game in which he smashed a 27-ball 56 and helped his side win a nail-biting contest against Adelaide Strikers.

Tahmid, who first met Konstas when he was 14 years old at Cranbrook School where Konstas was on a cricket scholarship, said that the youngster has added power to his game in the last 18 months. Tahmid also revealed that Konstas worked on his white-ball skills with the Bangladeshi coach.

"He was always a technically sound player. He had the fundamentals of the game. He wasn't a very powerful player though. He didn't score very quickly growing up, so he focused a lot on his white-ball cricket in the last 18 months.

"He made his BBL debut two weeks ago. The focus was to make him a better T20 player. He was contracted last year but didn't play any games. That's where his white-ball game really started to develop and come along," added Tahmid. 

Tahmid also mentioned how he and Australia's legendary all-rounder Shane Watson have been involved in Konstas' cricketing journey.  

"I was having dinner with his [Konstas] dad one night. We had some Greek food, which is their heritage. I put together a bit of a programme for him to try to target for the next phase of his life, which was to play Under-16s cricket in the New South Wales (NSW) system. It was where it all started for him. It was about his technical, mental, and tactical game.

"As the journey evolved, we were lucky enough to have Shane Watson, who helped Konstas' mental aspect of the game. I worked quite closely with Shane over the last few years. I worked with him in Major League Cricket (MLC) with the San Francisco Unicorns," said Tahmid, who is currently working with Elevate Cricket Coaching in Australia alongside Watson.