Speaking to Fox Cricket\u2019s Domesticated, Rogers believes that when Smith eventually retires, the national selectors will not need to look any further than Handscomb for a strong replacement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201dIf he got the chance again, I think he\u2019d be much better prepared,\u201d Rogers said of Handscomb. \u201cIf Smith was to retire and there was that opportunity needed for a stable Test No. 4, I think that could definitely be Pete. Hopefully he keeps scoring runs for us and things play out and he gets another opportunity to get Test level,\" he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rogers also stated that the Victorian veteran deserves another chance in international cricket and noted that Handscomb is a much better batter than he was eight years ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"He doesn\u2019t get the credit that he deserves. There\u2019s always that perception that he\u2019s exactly the same player he was when he played Test cricket, but I\u2019ve seen his growth. He\u2019s gone away and understood that the style of batting he had when he played Test cricket probably wasn\u2019t going to stand up, and it took him a while to get rid of the stubbornness around that, but since then, he\u2019s been so open to a different style.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"If you go and watch that hundred he got against Starc and Hazlewood, you\u2019ll see it\u2019s a very different model. Just how he looked to get forward, he looked to punch back into the ball. He wasn\u2019t just standing on the back foot behind the crease line. It\u2019s a game plan that would do pretty well in international cricket,\" he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Handscomb, who played 20 Tests for Australia between 2016 and 2023, is currently the Sheffield Shield\u2019s second-highest run-scorer with 350 runs at 43.75. He was named captain for the two-day pink-ball match in Canberra starting from November 29, which serves as key preparation under lights ahead of the day-night Test at the Gabba.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"If you go and watch that hundred he got against Starc and Hazlewood, you\u2019ll see it\u2019s a very different model. Just how he looked to get forward, he looked to punch back into the ball. He wasn\u2019t just standing on the back foot behind the crease line. It\u2019s a game plan that would do pretty well in international cricket,\" he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 34-year-old batter, who made his international debut against South Africa in 2016 and scored two hundreds in his first four Tests, last played for Australia during the 2023 India Test tour. He was expected to feature in Australia\u2019s squad for the recent Test tour of Sri Lanka but missed selection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n