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Australia's veteran batter Usman Khawaja will miss the birth of his second child, as it coincides with the tour of Pakistan. The left-hander lauded his wife for her understanding and support as he looks to build on a promising return to Test cricket.
Cricket Australia's 18-man Test squad for the three-Test series in Pakistan includes Usman Khawaja as one of the specialist batters. It will be the first time since 1998 that Australia will tour the sub-continent, after the visitors were apparently content with the security measures in place.
In a video uploaded by Cricket Australia, the veteran said that his wife knows cricket is a priority for him, and je is excited to play in the country of his birth. The 35-year old said in this regard:
"She’s very understanding; she knows I love playing cricket; it’s very important to me; she’s very supportive of that, and she knows I try to support her any way I can. It’s going to take me a lot to come back; it is Test cricket for Australia."
"I’m sort of not thinking about it because I don’t want it to happen, but ask me if it does happen. I've still got a lot of family in Karachi. I was obviously born there, so it'll be nice, special moment to go over there and tick the last part of the subcontinent off. I think it will be great for Australian cricket too."
Australia had a successful tour of Pakistan in 1998, winning both the Test and ODI series convincingly. However, it will be a stern challenge for them in the sub-continent, having not played in the region since 2017.
"I certainly think David Warner and Khawaja would most likely start as the openers in Pakistan" - George Bailey
Meanwhile, Australian selector George Bailey has nearly confirmed Australia's openers as David Warner and Usman Khawaja for the series. The former Australian captain said that with a handful of sub-continent tours to follow, Marcus Harris would travel as a reserve opener.
"I certainly think David Warner and Khawaja would most likely start as the openers in Pakistan. But we're also aware – not that age is a be-all and end-all barrier – that both Uz and Bull are around 35. We've got a lot of subcontinent cricket coming up over the next 12-18 months, so it's important to keep focusing on a bit of a succession plan and developing Harry's skills. He's the spare opener there," Bailey said, as quoted by cricket.com.au.
The tour kickstarts with the first Test in Rawalpindi on March 4.
