Usman Khawaja retires: ‘They told me I’d never play for Australia’ — Pakistan-born cricketer calls out stereotypes | Cricket News

Usman Khawaja poses for a photo with his family after announcing his international cricket retirement. (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Top-order veteran batter Usman Khawaja will walk out at the Sydney Cricket Ground one final time this week against England, bringing the curtain down on a 15-year international career that redefined what Australian cricket could look like — and who it could belong to.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The experienced left-hander confirmed on Friday that the fifth Test of the ongoing Ashes series in Sydney will be his last in the Baggy Green, announcing his decision in an emotional press conference surrounded by his parents, wife Rachel and their two children. He informed his teammates only moments before the media briefing, just before Australia’s training session for the final match of the series.

“I’m a proud Muslim coloured boy from Pakistan who was told he would never play for the Australian cricket team — look at me now,” Khawaja said, summing up a journey that has been as much about resilience and representation as runs and records.Born in Islamabad and raised in Sydney, Khawaja will retire in the city where he first watched Test cricket from the stands and later made both his first-class and Test debuts. Now 39, the oldest member of Australia’s Test side, he bows out after 88 Tests, with the chance to overtake Michael Hussey’s run tally and finish inside Australia’s top 14 men’s Test run-scorers.Khawaja told coach Andrew McDonald of his decision after the fourth Test in Melbourne, but admitted keeping the secret had been difficult.

“It’s been tough, I’ve just wanted to tell everyone,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d get emotional, but I teared up straightaway. My journey has been different to a lot of cricketers… all that emotion built up.”That journey was rarely smooth. Despite a promising debut in the 2010–11 Ashes, Khawaja endured years of being dropped, recalled and dropped again — in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England and at home — becoming, by some measures, Australia’s most frequently discarded Test batter. At one point, his average sat just above 25, and his Test future looked finished.Instead, Khawaja kept returning. His career-defining second act began at the SCG in the 2021–22 Ashes, where twin hundreds reignited his career. From that moment until now, no Australian has scored more Test runs. His nine-hour 141 against Pakistan in Dubai, twin tons at Sydney, and marathon innings at Edgbaston in 2023 stand as monuments to patience and defiance.Off the field, Khawaja’s impact may be even greater. As Australia’s first Muslim Test cricketer, he became a powerful, plain-spoken advocate against racism and for better pathways for players from migrant backgrounds.“I just want to be remembered as a humble cricketer who went out there and entertained,” Khawaja said. On a stage that once told him he didn’t belong, Usman Khawaja will take his final bow — on his own terms.Usman Khawaja’s international career stats (before farewell SCG Test):