Star batsman Usman Khawaja continues to stand tall in the face of incredible pressure
When Steve Smith and an outraged public demanded Australia rediscover its pride in the baggy green after five straight losses, it was Usman Khawaja who stood tall.
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BOXING Day is the embodiment of Australian cricket.
A packed MCG, tellies tuned to Channel Nine, backyard stumps flying, barbecues sizzling — and a Muslim Australian carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders.
At a time when polls suggest 49 per cent of Australians support a ban on Islamic immigration, Usman Khawaja has emerged as the saviour of the country’s national pastime.
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Khawaja’s fighting century in Adelaide last month will go down as an iconic innings, not only for rescuing a disaster-ridden Australia from its lowest point in Test history, but for the powerful message it sent about multiculturalism in the midst of a real life crisis for the world dictated by hate and fear.
When Test captain Steve Smith and an outraged public demanded Australia rediscover its pride in the baggy green after five straight losses, it was Khawaja who stood tall.
He batted through day and night to bring up the quintessential Australian Test match hundred, which he celebrated by gazing from the coat of arms on his helmet to the sky above.
As a proud Muslim who emigrated from Pakistan with his family aged 4, he finds some of the issues confronting Australia deeply troubling ahead of a Boxing Day clash against the country of his birth.
Khawaja — living proof you can be an immigrant, a Muslim and an outstanding Australian — says now is not the right time for his opinions to be heard, but the 30-year-old’s passion for becoming a spokesman and advocate for refugees in his cricketing retirement is clear.
“I don’t read the sports’ section funnily enough, but I do read the rest of the paper. I do have a lot of opinions and there’s a lot that can be said either way,” said Khawaja, who has tweeted his disapproval of Donald Trump, condemnation of terrorism and mourning for child deaths in Aleppo.
“Whether it’s the right time or place to say it now, probably not.
“The thing about cricket is you’re representing yourself, you’re representing Cricket Australia, you’re representing your teammates. It’s very hard to be open and honest on all fronts when you’re in that sort of environment and until I’m not (in that environment) it’s always team first.
“Multiculturalism in Australia is very close to my heart … I have no doubt I will get involved a lot more when I stop playing.
“But I’m very much involved in the background without people knowing too much … I get involved lightly and try to do what I can. Hopefully (immigrant populations and refugees) can keep coming.
“Obviously being born in Pakistan is a big part of me. My parents are from there, I’ve got family there. But as is Australia. I love Australia. I love being here, I love the lifestyle, I love the people, I love my friends.
“Without saying too much it’s one of those topics, it’s just tough to talk about.”
When Khawaja started out as a rookie in NSW, players instantly gravitated to him because he was not only the life of every party, but he could also drive them home after last drinks were served.
Despite his rise into the Queensland captaincy and seniority in the Australian dressing room, Khawaja is still the team’s No. 1 funny man and prankster and has refused to let leadership responsibilities change the person he is.
Khawaja is open in declaring his religion is at the centre of everything in his life.
In stark contrast to the motives behind the Christmas Day terror plot in Melbourne that was foiled while Australia was training at the MCG, Khawaja’s Islamic faith revolves around his profound love for people.
He is now a role model for a generation of multicultural Australians.
“Religion encompasses a lot of things for me. It immediately encompasses family, it encompasses friends, it encompasses my neighbours around me when I’m at home,” said Khawaja.
“Religion on a personal level — I know everything I do in life revolves around and comes back to religion. It’s at the centre of everything I do.
“It’s always in the back of my mind. Whenever I do something I’m doing it in terms of what I think is the right thing to do, if I do something wrong I bring myself back to it. That’s why it’s so important.
“You might please some people with what you do, you might displease other people. You can’t please everyone.
“I’m just going to be myself and if that’s good enough to be a role model for kids around Australia and in multicultural communities, then so be it.
“That’s how my parents raised me.”
This is Khawaja’s third coming in Test cricket, and by his own admission he has changed completely from the wide-eyed western Sydney boy who famously debuted in Ricky Ponting’s shoes at the SCG six years ago.
The passing of his friend and former teammate Phillip Hughes, the rupturing of the ACL in his left knee and the haunting experiences of being repeatedly dropped has taught Khawaja to make the game fun again before it’s all over.
Originally published as Star batsman Usman Khawaja continues to stand tall in the face of incredible pressure
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