‘I can still perform at the highest level’, says Khawaja on his future in Australian Test side

New Delhi:  Left-handed opener Usman Khawaja, who will be turning 38 in December this year, believes he still has it in him to perform at the highest level for the Australian Test side in future.

Khawaja, who’s played 73 Tests for Australia so far, won the ICC Test Player of the Year award for 2023, and has averaged over 50 in Tests since his return to the Australian team in 2022, via the twin centuries in the fourth Ashes Test at Sydney.

“I’m still in good nick! I’m playing every game, I reckon I’m doing all right! But honestly, I’m still enjoying the games, I feel like I can still perform at the highest level. I just won ICC Test player of the year. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to win that, particularly two or three years ago when I was out of the Test side.

“A lot has happened since then, and I’m really enjoying playing in this cricket team right now. I feel like I can continue to do it for the foreseeable future, but I never look too far ahead. So whether that’s one, two, three years, I have no idea.

“I’m sort of just rolling with it now, but I’m not giving myself a timeline. Every day is a gift. I’m just really just enjoying playing for Australia and being a part of the process every single day,” said Khawaja to Wide World of Sports.

Khawaja hasn’t played competitive cricket since arriving home from Australia’s short Test tour of New Zealand in March, and has been spending time with his family in Brisbane. He also feels individuals in Australian team preparing differently for matches has also helped in stay fresh.

“I love the individuality of just not pigeonholing … every team has to train a certain way, all together. I think that’s helping me a lot (to) stay rejuvenated. Andrew McDonald and Patty (Cummins) at the top are leading the way there too. There’s a lot of ownership in terms of individuals doing their own thing to prepare to get ready.

“Everyone’s at a different spot. I’m 37 years old and doing what I feel like I need to do to get ready for Test matches, and then you’ve got guys like Cameron Green in his mid-twenties, who’s preparing his certain way, and we’re letting him learn and explore and experience that,” he concluded.

IANS