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Chief selector George Bailey says there's plenty to like about Cooper Connolly, but admits there's "lots of work to go" before he's a Test mainstay.
Australian selectors see "lots to like" in Test bolter Cooper Connolly, but have warned there is still more to be done before he becomes a mainstay of the team.
Connolly was the surprise packet of the 16-player squad announced for the tour of Sri Lanka, beating out fellow allrounders Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh for a spot on the plane.
The 21-year-old has played only four games of first-class cricket for an average of 61.80, memorably scoring 90 for Western Australia on debut in the Sheffield Shield final last season.
He has since represented Australia in Twenty20 and one-day international cricket during a breakout 2024 - albeit without batting extensively in any of his four international white-ball appearances.
But Connolly impressed Test selectors during the recent white-ball tour of the United Kingdom, and with the 37 runs he made for Australia A against India in Mackay in October.
"There's lots to like," CA chief selector George Bailey said.
"Technically, we like it. Temperament, we like. Character, we like. Clearly, skill set, there's a lot to like there as well.
"He's someone that we've had our eye on for a period of time.
"On the first-class front, there's not a great deal of games behind him, but he is one that's been around that one-day group.
"We have in the past used that as a stepping stone at different times to see a player a bit more, find out a bit more about the way they play. He was obviously the beneficiary of that."
Connolly will have the chance to impress Australia's coaching staff during a training camp in the United Arab Emirates before the squad's arrival in Galle, where both Tests will be played.
He will have his work cut out to usurp Beau Webster for the allrounder spot in the XI, given the Tasmanian's excellent debut against India in this month's SCG Test.
Selectors are willing to view Connolly as a long-term prospect.
"We like what we're seeing. Clearly, there's lots of work to go," Bailey said.
"This will be a really big challenge for him, as it will for all those guys that are travelling to Sri Lanka, particularly for the first time.
"I think it is a place where even the guys who have been two or three times, the subcontinent conditions that you can face, those repeat entries and exposure to those conditions certainly helps."
Connolly's ability to bowl offspin could boost his selection chances, especially given the left-hander turns the ball a different way to fellow tweakers Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy.
Three-time Test player Matthew Kuhnemann is likely to be favoured as a fellow left-arm offspinner, and previously worked with Connolly on a Cricket Australia tour to the MRF Academy in Chennai.
"He bowled and batted really well over there. I'm really looking forward to working with him," Kuhnemann said.
