Paine: We'll encourage Konstas to play as he sees it

Sam Konstas has been encouraged to play at the tempo he feels is right in the upcoming four-day series against India A in Lucknow as he begins a run of first-class cricket that will determine his immediate Test future.

After making 50 runs in six innings against West Indies, Konstas' mission to save his Test place starts this week. While what happens in the Sheffield Shield during October will likely prove more relevant than the two games in India there will still be eyes on how he performs, especially in the second match when India A are expected to field Mohammed Siraj in their attack.

Australia A are coached by former national captain Tim Paine and he hasn't prescribed any particular way that Konstas should go about his work. Konstas has struggled to find a consistent batting rhythm early in his Test career which started with the barnstorming 60 off 65 balls against India at the MCG before he was confronted by tough conditions in West Indies.

"I think at times you'll see some of that [the more aggressive side], but I think people forget that Sam's still only 19 years of age," Paine told reporters in Lucknow. "So he's a long way from being the finished product.

"Clearly in Australia we know he's got a lot of talent. We think he's going to be a star at international cricket at some stage. He's obviously in the team, or was in the team, at the moment. But he's still finding his way [and] what's the best way for him to play.

"At times he's going to be super aggressive. Other times he'll trust his defence. He's working that out and figuring out when and why he needs to do it both. We'll encourage him this series to play it as he sees it.

"There's going to be times where it's hard and he'll have to soak up pressure, but when he's feeling good and he's on top we'll back him in to go hard and put the opposition under pressure. He's exciting. [You] don't know what you're going to get sometimes but that's a great part of watching him."

Konstas scored a century in a recent New South Wales pre-season game and vastly experienced state coach Greg Shipperd, who has helped mentor him early in his professional career, has seen good signs in his response from a tough tour.

"I have to concur with Usman Khawaja's recent story about how difficult the wickets were over there," Shipperd said. "You were able to see that as well, how difficult it was. I think he may have got stuck into a process of not moving his feet as much as we'd like him to in terms of responding to what's delivered his way and which we've seen him concentrate and focus on in his time in preparation here.

"The work ethic is fantastic. I think he's got a lot more clarity about how he wants to go about his cricket and his preparation has been first class. A hundred out here the other day was a good signal to the adjustments that he's made out of the West Indies, so I'm really confident that he'll score some heavy runs for us in that first four or so games before that international series begins."

While as the incumbent Test opener Konstas will have most attention him, the Australia A squad also includes Nathan McSweeney who opened last season against India and the highly-rated Victoria left-hander Campbell Kellaway.

"Certainly the guy sitting next to me [McSweeney] is right on the cusp," Paine said. "If he does well here and scores runs at the start of the Shield year, which isn't too far away, then there's certainly some positions in that [Test] team come late November that are up for grabs. There's a couple here and there's a couple back in Australia that if they start well, they're going to be right in the mix."