Usman Khawaja To Retire From International Cricket After Sydney Ashes Test

Usman Khawaja has announced he will retire from international cricket after the Sydney Ashes Test. The Australia batter made the announcement at a press conference at the Sydney Cricket Ground two days before the start of the Test.

“I’ve been thinking about it, not wholly, but for a while. Moving into this series, I kind of had an inkling in my head that this would be the last series,” Khawaja said.

Khawaja, 39, played little white-ball cricket for Australia but remained a mainstay in the Test side.

In a career spanning more than 15 years, Khawaja represented Australia in 87 Tests, 40 one-day internationals and nine Twenty20 internationals.

“I’m glad I get to leave on my own terms, with a little bit of dignity, and go out at the SCG where I love. But the start of the series was a pretty tough time. Then going into Adelaide and not being picked initially for the game, that was probably a sign for me to say, ‘all right, it’s time to move on,’” Khawaja said.

Khawaja will end his career at the SCG, the venue of his Australia debut. The Pakistan-born batter enjoyed playing at the ground. In nine Tests at the SCG, he scored 875 runs at an average of 87.50. He hit four centuries, two of them unbeaten, and one half-century.

Before his final international appearance, Khawaja’s Test tally stands at 6,206 runs, including 16 centuries. His career-best score of 232 came against Sri Lanka in Galle last year.

At the press conference, Khawaja said he had considered winding down his career last summer after the Test series against India but stayed on after discussions with Test coach Andrew McDonald.

Khawaja said he is retiring only from international cricket. He will continue playing in Twenty20 leagues and feature in the Sheffield Shield for Queensland.