I Am One Of The Top Six Batsmen In Australia: Usman Khawaja
May 5, 2020 at 11:52 AM
Out of favour Australia opener Usman Khawaja is eager to make a return into the Test side. According to the southpaw, his credentials should fetch him a slot in the top six. Khawaja’s last outing in whites had come against England in the Ashes last year at Old Trafford.
Furthermore, he has lost his place in the ODI side as well, after playing a pivotal role in the country’s World Cup campaign. His snub from the 20 men’s list of nationally contracted players came as a blow to him. The message from the selectors have been clear- Khawaja is no longer in the scheme of things.
Usman Khawaja vows to make a comeback
“Age is just a number and if you’re performing, you’re performing; it’s not like I’m 37 or 38 and coming into right at the end of my career,” Khawaja said on Fox Sports.
Khawaja also opined that he doesn’t carry any monkey on the back as he has proved his mettle against spin in the past.
“Without sounding arrogant, I still feel like I’m one of the top six batsmen in the country. My playing against spin has been right up there as some of the best in the county. Bar maybe Steve Smith, who is an absolute genius. But the most important thing is to score runs.” he added.
Usman Khawaja has played a decent role for Australia:
The 33-year-old Usman Khawaja has played 44 Tests and 40 ODIs for Australia. He took the onus on himself to deliver once some of the experienced campaigners had to make way due to the ball-tampering scandal. The batter shed a fair amount of weight and scored heavily in the sub-continent.
A match-saving inning against Pakistan in Dubai showed his appetite for the red-ball format. National Selector Trevor Hohns has admitted that Khawaja was ‘unlucky’ when it comes to fetching a national contract. He said ‘Uzzie’ just fell out of the bottom of the list inspire of making his presence in two formats.