India vs Australia 2019: Usman Khawaja Not Concerned About World Cup Spot

Usman Khawaja, the Australian opener who settled Australia’s opening worries with a timely half-century in the opening ODI, admitted that he is not thinking about the World Cup spot. Meanwhile, the upcoming edition of the showpiece tournament will start from May 30 in England and Wales.

With Aaron Finch struggling for runs and Alex Carey opening the innings earlier, Khawaja briefly solved Australia’s opening puzzle. The southpaw scored 50 and added with Marcus Stoinis a handy 86 runs for the second wicket. Australia, meanwhile, is likely to stick with Aaron Finch at the top-order despite his poor streak with the bat. Moreover, with the return of banned cricketers Steven Smith and David Warner, the place of Usman Khawaja looks uncertain. However, for Usman Khawaja, a World Cup berth is not a primary concern as he aims to win matches for Australia.

The southpaw admitted that he has really worked hard for his place in the ODI team and is currently enjoying the good run. In addition to, he also added that the Smith and Warner are world-class players and they should welcome him back with open arms.

“I worked really hard to get back into the one-day team and I’m just enjoying the ride, doing the best I can for the team,” Khawaja said on Sunday. “Doing my best to win cricket games, that’s the most important thing. That’s all I can really focus on. They’re world-class players and they’ve been amazing for the one-day team for Australia for a long time. I’m sure when they do come back they’ll be welcomed with open arms,” he added.

It is about executing skills better

The half-century comes at a crucial time for Usman Khawaja, who had been struggling to score runs at a pace required in limited-overs. In the three ODIs against India in January, Khawaja scored 59, 21 and 34; however, there were questions on his scoring-rate. With nine ODIs still to go for the World Cup, Khawaja is looking forward to building on that aspect of his batting.

“It’s all about executing your skill, do it better for longer,” he said. “The best players do that – there are always risks to be taken in one-day cricket, as there are in T20 cricket. As a batsman, you’re always juggling that in any short-form cricket. The best players do it better,” he concluded.