‘I’m a batsman, that’s my currency’: Khawaja hit back at Warne’s ‘body language’ barbs
Usman Khawaja has sent a hidden missile back at Shane Warne over constant “body language” barbs as new footage reveals just how much the baggy green means to the batsman.
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Usman Khawaja has sent a hidden missile back at Shane Warne and his army of critics by declaring himself cricket’s Mr Cool.
“I’m a pretty cool bloke,” Khawaja said.
“You either get it or you don’t.”
Warne wrote in his exclusive News Corp column that he just wanted to “shake (Khawaja) and get him to show a bit more”, arguing the decision to dump the left-hander from the Test side was the right one and that Khawaja’s “body language” needed improvement.
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The body language line has been a common barb directed at Khawaja by critics and ex-players over the years, and yesterday he refused to directly respond to Warne’s criticisms.
“I don’t think there’s any need to answer that question,” said Khawaja when asked about Warne’s column.
“I’m a batsman, I’m a run-scorer first and foremost, so that’s my currency.
“If you look at my Shield record, you look at my one-day domestic record, my record for Australia, my BBL record – I score runs. That’s all that matters.”
It was when pushed again about Warne, that Khawaja said he was cool, and if anyone has a problem with that ... it’s their problem.
Cricket Australia announced that Amazon had secured rights to a behind-the-scenes documentary, and a trailer of the blockbuster new series showed a heartbroken Khawaja looking like a shell of a man in the Headingley dressing rooms after the infamous Ashes loss earlier this year.
The anguish in Khawaja’s body language – and how much he cared – was laid bare for all to see.
Khawaja welcomed the warts and all depiction of the Australian cricketer.
“I just wanted to win the Ashes right there,” said Khawaja.
“It felt like we had, then we lost it.
“It was devastating.
“Australian cricket’s been very closed off, not allowing people into the change rooms. I think this documentary is great, to see the other side of it.”
Khawaja has a chance to put a big performance on the board today when he leads Queensland into battle against Western Australia in the one-day cup final at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
But the reality is the 44-Test veteran faces an uphill battle to break into Test cricket, aged 32, with opener Joe Burns and No.3 Marnus Labuschagne making the most of their starts at the top of the order.
Khawaja averages 40.66 at Test level, and has a better recent record on Australian soil than anyone other than Steve Smith.
He has refused to believe his Test career is over – adamant he “belongs” at the top level.
“No, never. If I had, I would have retired,” said Khawaja.
“You always have the goal of playing at the highest level.
“I feel like I belong at international level, but I’ve got to score runs and if I do that, the rest will take care of itself.
“I actually don’t think too much into a lot of things these days, I’m literally just going out and for me I’m a batsman trying to score runs, or in the field trying to take catches or get run outs. I try to keep it real simple.
“If I’m doing that for my team, the other stuff normally takes care of itself.
“That’s my No. 1 role, no matter what I’m playing, I’ll be out there trying to score runs.
“That’s all I’m really concentrating on.”