PUSH TO CALL UP YOUTH

SELECTORS should not be afraid to gamble on youth as an undermanned Australian side prepares to take on India and Sri Lanka on home soil, according to the man charged with presenting cricket’s next generation.

Australia’s batting line-up is diminished in the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner, while the Marsh brothers — Shaun and Mitchell — failed to fire in the Middle East and an injury cloud hangs over Usman Khawaja (knee).

It sets the scene for a bolter to be named for the First Test against India, starting on December 6 in Adelaide.

National Performance Program head coach Troy Cooley said South Australian Jake Weatherald was waiting for his chance.

“He’s ready,” Cooley said of the 23-year-old left-hander. “Score some runs, the door opens up and I think he’s got the maturity and the game to succeed.

“He’s going to be ready for the opportunity. That means making every day a winner — and he’s got a great attitude.”

Cooley said selectors should be excited rather than nervous about handing an international debut to a youngster following the Sheffield Shield double century scored by 20-year-old Victorian Will Pucovski last week.

“I think age is not a limit otherwise India wouldn’t have picked a Sachin Tendulkar and those sort of people,” he said.

“You’ve got to have the right qualities — otherwise you do young people an injustice.

First-season Australian coach Justin Langer, speaking after his side failed to pass 164 in either innings of the second Test against Pakistan, had a positive message for players banging down the door.

“If I’m a young batsman in Australia, it’s a pretty exciting time if you work really hard on your basic game and you learn how to make runs,” he said.