Usman Khawaja says he won’t fight selector’s wishes to refresh Test side

Usman Khawaja says he won’t fight the tap on the shoulder when it comes from selectors – but he doesn’t know if it will come ahead of this week’s first Test in Sri Lanka.

Usman Khawaja says he will not argue with selectors should the veteran opener receive the tap on the shoulder at some stage this year but claims he still has more to give in Test cricket.

In Sri Lanka for his fourth tour of the island nation as an Australian Test player, Khawaja meanwhile says he expects to open when the first Test begins in Galle on Wednesday but is unsure of the identity of his partner.

Khawaja, who turned 38 in December, has produced modest returns in Test cricket over the past 18 months following a barnstorming run between early 2022 and mid-2023.

With an Ashes series next summer, the prospect of Khawaja following in a long line of Australian players to bid farewell to Test cricket in Sydney is an enticing one.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 13: Usman Khawaja bats during an Australia Men's Test Squad training session at The Gabba on December 13, 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

However before that potential finish line in the new year, Australia has 10 Tests remaining for 2025, beginning with this week’s clash at Galle International Stadium.

While the left-hander feels as though he still has something left in the tank, he accepts that the selection panel of George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide and coach Andrew McDonald could decide at some stage this year that the time is right for Khawaja to call it a day. If that happens, Khawaja says he will not go kicking and screaming.

“There’s going to be times where I score runs, there’s going to be times where I don’t,” Khawaja told this masthead.

“I was World Test player (of the year) (in 2023).

“Touch wood I’m still healthy. I’m still seeing the ball really well … feet are moving all right. It’s just a case of, still enjoying my cricket, let’s go one series at a time. I still feel like I’ve got a bit to give, so it’s not like I’m saying ‘one series at a time, it’s my last series.’ I still feel like I’ve got a little bit more to give.

“We’ve got an older team. We’re not blind to that fact, we understand that fact. So it’ll be interesting to see, when the time does happen, how the transition will happen.

“I’m no way ever gonna hold back from that. I feel like when it’s my time, or when the selectors maybe say ‘we feel like (it’s) time,’ absolutely I’d step aside, no worries.”

The transition has in many respects already started following the retirement of David Warner and the debut of teenager opener Sam Konstas on Boxing Day.

However Konstas has not yet been publicly guaranteed to hold his spot for the first Test in Galle given the option of Travis Head reprising his role as opener in Asian conditions, allowing Josh Inglis to make his Test debut in the middle order.

Khawaja said on Sunday that he did not yet know what the Australian XI would look like, but that he thought he would remain at the top of the order.

“I expect to be opening,” Khawaja said.

“I genuinely don’t know what the team is … I’m not really sure, but it’s always interesting to see what team’s picked.

“We have options. Sam did really well when he came into the team. Might be a chance for him to maybe get some more experience.”

Originally published as Usman Khawaja says he won’t fight selector’s wishes to refresh Test side