Former Test batsman Usman Khawaja not losing any sleep waiting for a recall amid mounting injuries

Former Test batsman Usman Khawaja made a century opening for Australia in 2018 but with mounting injuries in the national squad isn’t getting his hopes up for a potential recall.

Usman Khawaja last played for Australia during the 2019 Ashes. Picture: Lindsey Parnaby / AFP

Former Test batsman Usman Khawaja hasn’t given a second thought to the potential for a national recall amid a rising injury toll in the Australian camp before the first Test against India next week.

Khawaja, 34, played his last Test during the 2019 Ashes, but with opener David Warner ruled out and potential debutant Will Pucovski under a concussion cloud, selectors could need a replacement at the top of the order.

In seven innings as a Test opener for Australia, Khawaja, who made most of his 2887 Test runs at number three, made 484 runs at a staggering average of 96.80, with two centuries, two half-centuries and a highest score of 145.

Three of those matches were in Australia, with his 145 coming in Adelaide, site of the first Test.

Khawaja was also among the runs during the opening rounds of the Sheffield Shield, scoring 131 and 46 not out in his last game for Queensland.

But as he prepared to open his Big Bash campaign with the Sydney Thunder this weekend, Khawaja said a Test call-up wasn’t on his radar.

So had a day to think about new BBL rules. My biggest issue is that the BBL is all about (and great at) getting new people involved whom have never played. But the rule changes complicate what's already a very complicated game (for newcomers). Shouldn't we be going the other way?

— Usman Khawaja (@Uz_Khawaja) November 17, 2020

“I’m just here focusing on Thunder stuff, that’s the honest truth. I’m practising with the guys every day, getting ready for that first T20 game. That’s really how far I look. I don’t look beyond that,” he said on Thursday.

“Ben Cutting is a new recruit and he asked me the schedule for the next two weeks and I can’t even tell him. I like to keep my feet on the ground, not look too far head and focus on what’s in front of me right now.

“I can’t focus on what I don’t have. With all my experience in cricket and life, you control what you can control.”

Instead Khawaja, a critic of the new rules brought in to the Big Bash this year, said how they might play had been taking up a lot of his thoughts.

When they were announced, Khawaja said the three changes, including an extra batting power play, a super-sub and bonus points “complicate what’s already a very complicated game”.

Usman Khawaja?
Matthew Wade?
Shaun Marsh?@gilly381 and @RoySymonds63 have their say on who should fill the open vacancy at the top of the Australian batting line up for the first Test in Adelaide. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/bcorgMnC9R

— Sporting News Australia (@sportingnewsau) December 9, 2020

Having pondered them since, and how they might work, he still isn’t convinced they are necessary but concedes that could change.

“I think one rule change coming into this BBL would have been perfect. Three is a lot,” Khawaja said.

“We tried super-subs before, it hasn’t really worked.

“The batting power play will be interesting. We have tried something similar in one-day cricket a few years ago, you had to take a batting power play before the 40th over.

“There’s not really anything that hasn’t been tested in 50-over cricket, but it’s new for Big Bash.

“I’m not really sure how it’s going to play out, how the tactics will evolve. No one really knows how to tackle it at the moment.

“I’ve got a feeling it will be a lot different from the start of the tournament to the end of the tournament. You will see an evolution. You are always looking for that extra edge.”

The Sydney Thunder starts their campaign against the Melbourne Stars on Saturday in Canberra.