Usman Khawaja is not thinking about retirement yet. While the Australian opener acknowledges the inevitable, he insists there is still fire in the belly and motivation to keep batting at the top level.
At 38, Khawaja is not only one of the most experienced players in the Australian Test set-up but also among the most consistent, especially since his resurgence.
He is the top-scorer for Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. With the final still left, Usman Khawaja has amassed 1,422 runs, including two hundreds, in 19 matches at an average of 41.82.
Also read: South Africa Predicted Playing XI for WTC Final
No Retirement Yet: Usman Khawaja Says He'll Step Away ‘Gracefully’ When the Time Comes
In an exclusive conversation with the ICC, Khawaja reflected on his mindset as he approaches the twilight of his international career. His tone was calm, composed and reflective of a player who has made peace with the highs and lows of the sport.
The Australian Test opener is not concerned with how old he is or how much time he has left. Right now, his focus is on enjoying the game, contributing to the team, and staying in the present. For Khawaja, that is enough.
"To me, age is irrelevant. If I'm still enjoying my game, still training really hard, I'm still scoring runs, still contributing to the team where I can, I've still got the hunger. I don't really think of anything as different, but I'm very open. I'm really just enjoying my cricket at the moment. Everything that has a beginning has an end," Khawaja said as quoted to the ICC Digital.
It is not the first time Khawaja has had to prove a point. He has been in and out of the Australian Test team more times than most. He was discarded, recalled, and overlooked before he finally cemented his spot during the Ashes in 2021-22 with twin hundreds in Sydney. That journey has helped him stop chasing long-term answers.
"I don't know when that end will be, but for me it's all about staying in the moment, enjoying it one Test match at a time, one series at a time. And when it's time to hang up the boots, I'll gracefully do that, whatever it be," he added.
The bigger shift for Khawaja, though, is what has changed at the other end. For over a decade, he had David Warner walking out with him. Now, post-Warner, Khawaja is not just the senior-most opener but also the steady hand expected to guide whoever fills that vacant slot.
"Opening is so tough... I'm worried about how the ball is going to bowl to me and what I need to do. The opposite; whoever's opening with me is thinking exactly the same. Then we're kind of in the middle working together on how we're going to blunt out this attack. It doesn't really change my game too much. If anything, the change was probably a little bit quieter without Davey. But for me, it's just about what I need to do for my team and then where I need to work with my partner while I'm out there," Khawaja stated.
Australia's Opening Conundrum Ahead of WTC Final
Since Warner’s retirement from Test cricket, Australia have shuffled through a few names to find a steady partner for Khawaja. Steve Smith gave it a go, Travis Head had a brief look-in, Nathan McSweeney was trialled, and more recently, young Sam Konstas has entered the mix. But with no clear-cut answer yet, the selectors are now weighing up the bold option of sending Marnus Labuschagne to open in the WTC 2023-25 final versus South Africa, beginning June 11 at the Lord's in London.
Both Labuschagne and Konstas have linked up with the squad in London ahead of the summit clash. As things stand, it is shaping into a direct shootout between the two for the opening spot.
