The former Australian World Cup and Ashes-winning captain, Michael Clarke, feels that the fifth and final Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will be the best opportunity for their left-handed opening batter, Usman Khawaja, to announce his international retirement on a high. The veteran, at 38, has been under a little pressure.
Khawaja has been a steady opener since the Ashes 2022 and was expected to carry the top order after the retirement of David Warner. The likes of Steve Smith, Sam Konstas, and Nathan McSweeney looked to partner him at the opening place but didn’t get the right prize. Usman’s struggle has been immense in the BGT 2024-25, with 141 runs in eight innings at 20.74, where he was exposed multiple times by Jasprit Bumrah.
Michael Clarke trusts if Khawaja steps away at the end of the ongoing series, it would provide Australia a great chance to groom a new opening batter for the upcoming 2025-26 Ashes at home.
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“This is Uzzie’s home Test match, the SCG. He has been an amazing player, an absolute amazing player. Come back in, score runs overseas, score runs in Australia. He’s 38 years of age, I think it could be a great opportunity for Uzzie to announce his retirement, and Sydney to be his last Test.” Michael Clarke expressed this during a discussion on the Beyond 23 Cricket Podcast.
“I know he would like to keep playing. His form has not been as good as he would like throughout this series. I know we’ve got a trip to Sri Lanka, and then we’ve got the Ashes. There’s a lot of cricket in between, but I also think that could be a great opportunity for a new player to come in, open the batting, get some Test match cricket under their belt before the first Ashes Test match.” The former Test captain of Australia remarked.
Michael Clarke addresses the perfect time for Usman Khawaja to make international retirement
The left-handed batter ends the year with 415 Test runs in 18 innings at an average of under 26 and a strike rate of 41 with just a couple of half-centuries. That’s a huge drop from last year, where he claimed an average of 52.61 for 1210 runs in the five-day format.
Michael Clarke reckoned that Khawaja had earned the right to make his own decision in the format rather than being pushed by the selectors.
“Uzzie’s earned the right to do his own thing. But I just thought maybe this could be the perfect time for him to finish on his terms. In front of family and friends, Sydney Test match, what an awesome opportunity.” The former New South Wales batter highlighted.
As Michael Clarke suggested, David Warner also decided to hang up his shoes from the longest format before his home ground at the end of the last SCG Test against Pakistan in January 2024.
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However, Khawaja has maintained his desire to be part of the upcoming Ashes before retiring, having already played a vital role for the side in being the winner of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23.
“I think everything’s got an end; there’s an expiry date on everything, and when you hold on too tight, you stop focusing on the things that matter. I’m still out there; I’m trying to score as many runs as I can, trying to put my team in the best positions to win games, and I don’t want to be thinking, ‘I want to play for Australia for this many games, that many games.” The Pakistan-born opening batter noted during an interview with the Wide World of Sports in November 2024.