Usman Khawaja’s farewell underlines cricket as expression of character

Usman Khawaja’s Test retirement highlighted both his importance to Australian cricket and the quiet individuality of his game. He ranks 15th on Australia’s list of highest Test scorers and first emerged for Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where his first Test shot was a celebrated pull for four.

Khawaja was not a token selection, the speech argued: he built a Test career on runs and became a specialist after the 2019 World Cup, playing at his own tempo with a distinct, touch-oriented technique. Contrasting with contemporaries such as Steve Smith and David Warner, he favoured minimal-effort elegance and subtle innovations like an understated reverse sweep.

His public valediction was described as frank and wide-ranging, touching on his faith, his country’s divisions and his experience of feeling racially stereotyped — judged on dedication, resilience and attitudes to training. He noted how long careers attract clichés and how an orientalist edge affected perceptions of him as an “exotic” and a man of faith in a secular age.

The speech also reflected on his career split: he played 44 Tests either side of his 2019 omission and 87 of Australia’s 153 Tests since his debut, averaging 40.66 before the break and 46.1 afterwards.

Key Topics

Culture, Sports, Cricket, Retirement, Character, Diversity, Test Cricket