‘I could’ve retired two years ago’: Khawaja responds to calls for his axing

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Adelaide: Usman Khawaja insists he is not fazed by calls to retire from Test cricket rather than pushing for a recall over the remaining three games of the Ashes, and has revealed why he thinks his back broke down in Perth.

Reporting fit for duty at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, the 38-year-old Khawaja also opened up on his one-on-one with Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg after his spiky comments about the Optus Stadium pitch, and has insisted he can play an effective role at the top of the order should Travis Head move back to No.5.

Usman Khawaja speaks with Todd Greenberg in Brisbane.

Australia have not finalised an 11 for Adelaide, and Khawaja was speaking without knowing whether he will return to the team.

“It doesn’t really faze me,” Khawaja said in response to calls for him to retire immediately. “As much as people sometimes want to have a crack at me, I love playing for Australia, I’m still very committed, still every game I take the same way as I took 10 years ago – train hard, do everything right.

“For me, it’s irrelevant and more about being a professional. People can have opinions, absolutely no worries to me, but I can’t really sit down and worry what other people think – especially outside of the squad and the people I care about.

“I could’ve retired two years ago, I could’ve retired at any time. But [I’m] still valued by the team, still asked to be here to play, so I’m here.”

After still experiencing soreness and stiffness batting in the nets two days before the Gabba Test, Khawaja was not considered for selection as he had not returned to “baseline” fitness. After undergoing a series of gym, running and batting sessions during the Test, Khawaja is now far more limber, and believes it was actually his long, and delayed, flight to Perth that started the trouble.

“I’ve never enjoyed doing stuff on the day of flights anyway,” Khawaja said. “I’ll probably be a bit more cautionary about that now because I think that was half the reason why what happened happened in Perth – a long flight. We had a six-hour flight and there was a bit of a delay that didn’t help. I did feel sore after it, so I’ll always be mindful of flights.

“I smacked them in the nets [in Brisbane], I was crunching them, even Beau [Webster] next to me was [saying], ‘Geez, you’re hitting them good’ and I was like yeah, but my back was sore. It was still two days out and my back was still very stiff, and it was just too hard – I didn’t want to start a game, the risk was too high. With the selectors, we sat down and had a chat afterwards, and it was still hurting.

“If it was the second-last game or the last game we potentially could have pushed it, but it probably just wasn’t worth it in the second game and I didn’t want to leave the guys hanging again. So we thought the best thing for the team was to stay out and make sure it was 100 per cent right, not going into another game with a little niggle.”

Khawaja stretches during an Australian training session.

Khawaja has not played golf since his back issue flared during the Perth Test, but he was steadfast in denying it was a contributing factor. After speaking with Greenberg about his pitch comments, Khawaja was cleared of any sanction for detrimental public comment.

“[On] the golf one, [it’s] not really important to me what other people say. I’ve always been a professional,” Khawaja said about claims that playing golf for three days in a row leading into the Perth Test had contributed to his back spasms.

“The wicket one was not really a big issue for me. I talked to Todd [Greenberg] about it, like adults, and it was all sorted. I think it was more of an issue for the media and everyone else, if I’m being truly honest, but it’s all resolved, no issues.

“Certain things probably do [affect me], certain things probably don’t. I get told more from vibes of what other people have read. It’s not like I go out reading things, it’s the vibe. Then sometimes things just pop up and you can’t hide from it, absolutely. Certain things do and don’t [affect me], but I don’t see the relevance in talking about it.”

As for how Head and Jake Weatherald have taken the attack to England with a trio of combative opening stands, Khawaja said he was capable of batting with different gears but also of absorbing the new ball if the situation required. He also observed that Head’s supposed “lobbying” to open had been misconstrued.

“I think Travis said he’d been quietly lobbying. It was more a case of Heady always said, ‘If you need me to open, I’ll open’,” Khawaja said.

“I had a joke with [Andrew McDonald about it], I was like, ‘Quietly lobbying – that’s one of the quietest lobbyings I’ve heard’, and he had a giggle too and was like, ‘Yeah’. Heady’s a team player, he’ll always open if they need him to open, but it’s not like he was at the back knocking on doors saying, ‘I want to open’.

“I can bat in so many different ways. I’ve played T20 and one-day cricket for Australia, I’ve been successful in all formats. I’ve got gears when I want them.

“Sometimes, to be really successful as an opener for a long period, you’ve got to find a way to be consistent, not just for a game or two, so I’ve always been conscious of that. Sometimes the game and situation dictates that, too. I just play the game that’s in front of me.”

Looking ahead to the Test starting on Wednesday, Khawaja said there were enough older heads in the Australian side to make sure they did not take England for granted, particularly after giving up a 2-0 advantage in the UK in 2023.

“It was a good lesson, particularly for a lot of the younger guys, I hope they still remember,” he said. “The toughest times are always the best lessons.

“One of the toughest games I played was [at] Headingley when Stokesy [Ben Stokes] played one of the great innings. In my head it’s never gone away after that. You have a team nine down and it’s never over, so take good lessons out of that.”

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