Australia vs India 2018-19: Usman Khawaja Not Bothered As Spot In XI Remains Unclear

Ahead of the first Test against India, Australia star Usman Khawaja has insisted he is not bothered about his spot in the batting lineup.

The first of the four-Test series against India is just a couple of days away. However, Usman Khawaja, one of Australia’s batting mainstays, still doesn’t know where he will bat in the series-opener. But despite the uncertainty over his batting spot, the southpaw said he is not fussed about it.

Khawaja, who had scored a stunning century against Pakistan in UAE a couple of months ago, is all but assured of playing the game. However, Australia are still yet to make a clear call between uncapped opener Marcus Harris and middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb.

In case Harris gets the nod, he is likely to open the innings alongside Aaron Finch. In that case, Khawaja is more than likely to come at number three. However, if selectors decide to recall the in-form Handscomb to the XI then Khawaja will continue to open the batting for Australia.

But despite the uncertainty over his role, Khawaja is not bothered at all.

“The only thing it affects is how fast I have to run off the field,” Khawaja told RSN Breakfast Club today.

“You only get 10 minutes as an opener, which is a pain in the a***. I love batting No.3 because you often get a little rest, little breather, put your pads on nice and easy, watch the openers scurry off.

“But it doesn’t make a difference whatsoever,” he added.

There is also a possibility of seeing Finch bat in the middle-order, given that he has batted the majority of his first-class cricket with Victoria in middle-order.

“It’s something that’s not on my mind because it doesn’t really bother me,” Khawaja told SEN radio.

“I’m just training as I would (for) any other game, ready to get out there and play some cricket.

“Prepared to bat wherever I’m told to bat. I’m expecting it to be three or opening, but we have two openers in the side.

“At the moment (I think) it’s three, but if they want me to open I’m happy to open,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khawaja is not new to opening the innings in Adelaide, the venue for the series-opener. He had came out to open the innings in the 2016 day-night Test against South Africa after David Warner was injured. Khawaja fully repaid the faith by scoring 145 as Australia crushed the Proteas by seven wickets.

However, he has played most of the games in international cricket at number. So far, he has batted 51 times at number three in Tests, scoring 1625 runs at an average of over 45.

The first Test will get underway on December 6.