Cricket icon Ricky Ponting has backflipped on the player he wants to see make their Test debut for Australia this month.

The legendary batter had initially endorsed teenage phenom Sam Konstas to open alongside Usman Khawaja for the series against India, which starts in Perth on November 22.

But now he wants to see Nathan McSweeney picked as the man to fill the void left by David Warner’s Test retirement.

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The two uncapped batters both turned out for Australia A in a tour match against India A in Mackay, but it was McSweeney who stood up to the challenge.

Konstas, 19, rocketed to the fore with twin centuries in the Sheffield Shield opener for New South Wales last month.

He then scored 2 and 43 for the Blues before failing in his Australia A outing, returning 0 and 16.

McSweeney – who has scored two centuries and two half centuries in his past three Shield matches for South Australia – captained Australia A and returned 39 and 88 not out.

The 25-year-old now appears in the box seat to make his Test debut.

“I was put on the spot about a week ago, and I sort of immediately went to the young guy Sam Konstas,” Ponting told the ICC Review show.

“(Konstas) had come off back-to-back hundreds against South Australia.

“Then I thought a bit more about it and, he is so young and he has probably not even played on grounds like Optus Stadium (in Perth) or at the Gabba.

“He wouldn’t have played a pink-ball (match) at Adelaide Oval either.

“So there’s a lot of things that stack up against the young guy, although there’s no doubt that he’s got talent.

“I don’t think they’d go back to a (Cameron) Bancroft or (Marcus) Harris because if they’re willing to do that they would’ve done it the last year.

“So, the only name left for me more or less is Nathan McSweeney, who is Queensland-born now playing for South Australia. He got the most out of any of those guys from the A game in Australia at the moment.

“And he’s more experienced. He has captained Australia A in the past, and he’s captaining them now. So, I’m leaning towards McSweeney now for that opening role at the start of the Australian summer.”

Australia A has one more tour match against India A, starting Thursday in Melbourne.