Sydney: Australia’s veteran top-order batsman Usman Khawaja has confirmed that he will retire from international cricket after the final Test of the ongoing Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The 39-year-old would end his Test career with 87 appearances, during which he scored a career-high 6,206 runs, including 16 centuries.
Renowned for his resilience at the top of the order and calmness under pressure, Khawaja has been a key figure in Australia’s red-ball set-up in recent years.
“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Khawaja said. “Coming into this series, I had a feeling that this would be my last match. I didn’t close the door completely because there is always a chance for me to play, but the signs were there.”
Khawaja revealed that he had a long discussion with his wife Rachel before making the decision and continued to be confident of his longevity until head coach Andrew Macdonald formally informed him a few days ago.
“I’m happy to go out on my own terms, with some dignity and end up at the SCG, a place I love,” he said. “It was a tough start to the series and then not being picked first for the Adelaide Test, maybe that was the moment I realized it was time to move on.”
The SCG holds special significance in Khawaja’s career as he began his Test journey and was rejuvenated.
He made his debut against England in the final Test of the 2010–11 Ashes series and then resumed his career at the same venue in 2022, scoring a double century against England after being recalled to replace Travis Head, who was sidelined due to Covid-19.
Those hundreds cemented his place in the side and saw him promoted to starter.
He did not miss a Test after that until the current Ashes series, when back pain—initially sustained in Perth—kept him out of the Brisbane Test.
Khawaja came to an abrupt end when he was ruled out of the Adelaide Test, but got a late chance after Steven Smith fell ill.
Seizing the opportunity, he scored 82 in the first innings, followed by 40 in the second innings, which earned him selection for the Melbourne Test and allowed him to retire on his own terms.
After becoming the first Muslim to represent Australia in Test cricket, replacing the injured Ricky Ponting, Khawaja initially struggled to secure a permanent place in the team.
His maiden Test century followed a two-year absence in Brisbane against New Zealand in 2015, and he went on to score centuries in three of his next four Tests.
Despite his brilliance, he was often shunned in overseas settings, especially in the subcontinent.
A match-saving innings against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2018 helped restore his status, but his omission midway through the 2019 Ashes series cast doubts over his future again.
His recall in Sydney in 2022 was a turning point.
Over the next 18 months, Khawaja played a key role in Australia’s historic return to Pakistan, scoring 195 against South Africa, finishing as Australia’s leading run-scorer in India, and producing a brilliant performance in the opening Test of the 2023 Ashes.
Until the end of the Ashes series in England, Khawaja had scored 7 centuries in 22 Tests at an average of 60.48 – an extraordinary late-career surge that now brings an illustrious Test journey to a fitting end at the SCG.