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Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has made a bold claim about Usman Khawaja’s future as an international cricketer. Clarke believes Khawaja has earned the right to retire on his own terms and should announce his retirement after the fifth Test against India in Sydney.
Khawaja has not been at his best in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The left-arm opener has struggled to take on Jasprit Bumrah against the new ball throughout the series so far. With one more test left, he runs out of time to prove himself.
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Michael Clarke wants Usman Khawaja to retire after Sydney Test
Speaking on the Beyond 23 cricket podcast, Michael Clarke discussed Usman Khawaja’s recent form with the bat and believes he should announce his retirement after the Sydney Test against India as he is also the your place
“This is Uzzie’s (Usman Khawaja) home Test match, the SCG. He’s been an incredible player, an absolutely incredible player. He’s back, he’s scoring runs overseas, he’s scoring runs in Australia. He’s 38, I think it could be a great opportunity for Uzzie to announce his retirement and Sydney to be his last test,” Clarke said.
Usman Khawaja is likely to open the batting alongside youngster Sam Konstas in the fifth Test of the series in Sydney. Khawaja and Konstas put on 89 runs for the first wicket in the first innings of the Melbourne Test. Khawaja scored 57 and 21 in the two innings of the match.
Michael Clarke wants a new opening pair for Australia
Michael Clarke also revealed the reason why he wants Usman Khawaja to announce his retirement. Australia have an away series against Sri Lanka next and Clarke wants a young debutant ahead of next year’s Ashes series.
“I know he’d like to keep playing. His form hasn’t been as good as he’d like throughout this series. I know we’ve got a trip to Sri Lanka, and then we’ve got the Ashes,” Clarke noted.
“There’s a lot of cricket in the middle but I also think it could be a great opportunity for a new player to come in, open the batting, get some Test match cricket before the first Ashes Test match,” he added.
Clarke feels Khawaja has earned the right to retire on his own terms after incredible performances over the years. He feels that it will be perfect for him to retire to his home in front of his family.
“Uzzie has earned the right to do his own thing. But I just thought maybe this could be the perfect time for him to finish on his own terms. In front of family and friends, the Sydney Test match, what an opportunity fantastic,” he said. the former Australia skipper concluded.
Usman Khawaja in BGT 2024-25
Usman Khawaja has been a vital part of Australia’s Test team over the years. The 38-year-old has scored 5592 runs at an average of 44.38 in the 77 Tests he has played so far with 15 hundreds and 27 fifties.
However, he has struggled for runs in the ongoing series where he has amassed just 141 runs in four Tests at an average of just 20.14. He has scored only one fifty in this series which came in the last Test match in Melbourne.
