Usman Khawaja announces his retirement with message about ‘inspiring children’ at emotional press conference
Usman Khawaja’s Test career hopes he has ‘inspired children’ throughout his Test career, which the left hander confirmed will come full circle and end in Sydney.
After months of speculation around his future, Khawaja fronted a press conference in Sydney on Friday morning to confirm he would retire from International cricket next week.
The left-hander’s decision means he will finish with 88 Tests to his name, having already risen to be Australia’s 15th greatest run-scorer in history with 6206.
The call to walk away means the Sydney Test will also turn into something of a farewell party for the 39-year-old, with the series decided and Australia 3-1 up.
Khawaja’s Sydney exit is fitting, given so much of his career has been based around the city he moved to as a four-year-old from Islamabad.
‘This game humbles you. It tests you patience, your resilience and character, and if you are lucky, it teaches you gratitude,’ he said in the press conference.
Aussie Test great Usman Khawaja (pictured) has announced he’ll retire at the end of the upcoming Sydney Test match
The left hander ends his career with 88 Tests played for his country
‘I hope I have inspired children along the way,’ he added.
‘Particularly those who are different, those that feel that they don’t belong or those others tell that they will never make it.
‘Seeing is believing, and I am here to tell you that you can do whatever you want. You just gotta keep trying.
‘I’m a proud Muslim, coloured boy from Pakistan who was told that he would never play for the Australian cricket team – look at me now.’
He made his debut at the SCG in 2011 against England, scoring a stylish 37 that offered Australian fans hope at the end of the worst home summer this century.
Khawaja’s first Ashes century came at the ground as well with a 171 against England in 2018 as Australia wrapped up a dominant 4-0 series victory.
And it was at the SCG where he revived his career as a 35-year-old, scoring twin centuries against England when Travis Head missed a Test in 2022 through COVID.
The 39-year-old made the sad announcement in front of a plethora of journalists and media professionals
Khawaja (pictured) is seen as one of Australia’s greatest ever openers and scored twin comeback centuries when he last played England in an Ashes Test at the SCG in 2022
Khawaja’s position had come under more scrutiny this summer after being unable to open in the first Ashes Test in Perth due to back spasms and then missing the Brisbane Test with the injury.
That Test prompted one of the great late-career revivals, hitting seven centuries in his first two years back in the side as part of a dominant opening partnership with childhood friend David Warner.
Khawaja’s resurgence also made him a genuine all-time great in the Australian side, with 16 centuries and an average of 43.39.
At age 39, he will also become Australia’s oldest Test player in 40 years at the SCG over the next week.
He was then initially left out in Adelaide before Steve Smith’s vertigo allowed him to return, before an 82 in the first innings ensured the left-hander would stay in the side for the fourth Test in Melbourne.
Khawaja’s exit makes him just the second player after his good friend David Warner to retire while still in the Test team in the past decade, as Australia face a period of transition over coming years.
Australia will look to send Khawaja off on a high with a win when the final Test of the ongoing series begins on Sunday.
