Victorian batsman Will Pucovski feels he is now in a better place to take his opportunity at Test level, compared to his first time in an Australian squad two seasons ago.
After amassing 495 runs from two games this Sheffield Shield season, Pucovski feels he ‘earned the right’ to be named in the squad for the upcoming India Test series.
“I feel like I’m in a much better place to take the opportunity if it presents itself now, than I may have been a couple of years ago,” Pucovski said on SEN’s Whateley.
“I was 20 a couple of years ago and I’m 22 now.
“I’ve played 15 or 20 more first-class games, and I’ve put a stack of work in off-field to make sure my life and my cricket is in a really good place.”
The Victorian was first selected in a Test squad for the 2019 Sri Lanka series as a 20-year-old, but was unable to break through for his debut.
Since then, Pucovski feels he is more equipped to appear at Test level, taking in a different mindset to this summer’s campaign.
“Probably the difference in feeling is you’re excited, but you’re ready to do a job this time,” he added.
“Whereas last time, not that I wasn’t ready, but I was probably just so excited to get picked for Australia that I didn’t think too much about the job at hand.
“This time it feels like I’ve earned the right to be here, and I’m pretty pumped to take the challenge on of playing India if I do get the chance.”
While Justin Langer has leant towards the incumbent Joe Burns in recent days, calls have been getting louder for Pucovski to replace the Queenslander as David Warner’s opening partner.
The Australia v India Test series begins on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.