He will continue playing for the Brisbane Heat in the BBL and representing Queensland in the Sheffield Shield.
Australia’s oldest Test player, Usman Khawaja, has announced that he will hang up his boots following the fifth fixture of the Ashes 2025-26. The batter decided to bid farewell to his 15-year-long international career with a grand Ashes final at his home ground, the SCG.
The 39-year-old declared the decision at a press conference two days ahead of the final Ashes 2025-26 match. The player has represented Australia across 136 fixtures so far, including 87 Tests, 40 ODIs, and nine T20Is. Notably, Khawaja also made his debut in the fifth Ashes Test in 2011 at the SCG and went on to rack up 6,206 runs in the format, laced with 16 hundreds and 28 half-centuries, averaging 43.49.
The southpaw had previously informed the head coach about his decision after a rapid two-day finish of the fourth match. But his teammates only got to know about it just moments ahead of the practice session on Friday morning.
“I didn’t think I’d get emotional but I teared up straightaway. It just shows what it means to me. My journey has been different to a lot of cricketers in the Australian cricket team. All that emotion built up,” stated Khawaja at the presser.
ALSO READ:
After the announcement, Khawaja also spoke about the hardships that he faced as a Pakistan-born Australian player. He noted the latest incident regarding the back spasms that troubled him on both days of the opening fixture. The Aussie veteran voiced his disappointment at how differently he was treated by the fans, former players, and the media.
“I’ve always felt a little bit different, even to now. Different in the way I’ve been treated, different in how things have happened. When I had back spasms, it was something I couldn’t control. The way the media and the past players came out and attacked me….I copped it for about five days straight. Everyone was piling in,” narrated the batter.
He elaborated on how the questions on his commitment towards the game and the team affected him. Khawaja acknowledged the current progressive society, but he called for more inclusivity, as he felt that ‘Australian cricket is still very white in a lot of respects.’
“When I get injured, everyone went at my credibility and who I am as a person. Normally when someone gets injured, we feel sorry for them and we don’t attack what happened to them. We’re a lot better and inclusive society than we’ve been before but there’s still a way to go because Australian cricket is still very white in a lot of respects,” added Khawaja.
However, after a single-digit return in Perth and missing out on the pink-ball Test due to the back issues, the player made a decent comeback to put up 171 runs in the subsequent three innings. This also included a gritty 82-run contribution in the first innings in Adelaide that eventually proved to be the margin of win, handing the Baggy Greens an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the marquee series.
“I just want to be remembered as a humble cricketer who went out there and entertained, and people enjoyed watching,” concluded Khawaja.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
