SA vs AUS: "I Like Playing One..." - Usman Khawaja Points Out Three Things That Keep Him Going

Australia batter Usman Khawaja opened up about the three things that keep him going. He revealed that he likes playing one summer at a time along with seeing how his body and mind are going. 

Usman Khawaja in the last few years has become a vital cog in Australia’s Test setup. Ever since he made a return to the team, he has piled up a huge amount of runs for the team at the top and has been the main reason behind the side’s success in the longest format. 

Usman Khawaja played a pivotal role in Australia retaining the Ashes against England. He batted magnificently at the top in tough conditions and ended up as the leading run-getter in the series with around 496 runs in 5 games at an average of 49.60 to go with three half-centuries and one ton. 

Usman Khawaja said that he’s ticking the three things at the moment and will continue playing. He also talked about how exciting Ashes 2023 was and cricket won.

Speaking to Perthnow, he explained: “In 2025 … one series at a time I go with. You can get ahead of yourself and look to that time (in 2025) and think, ‘I can probably get there’, but I don’t want to (do that). I like playing one summer at a time and seeing how the body is going, how the mind is going and whether I am enjoying it. 

“It is those three things. I am ticking those three boxes at the moment so I will keep playing. I have had so many people come up to me and tell me how good the Test series was. So for cricket … cricket definitely won. I’ve had more than 50 people tell me the last couple of weeks how much sleep they lost watching the Ashes.” 

SA vs AUS: Usman Khawaja talks about his opening partner after David Warner 

Usman Khawaja also talked about the Ashes 2025, saying that to win in Australia, England needs something special because they have been dominating for a long time. 

“We would have loved to have won but we have now retained (or won) four Ashes series in a row … 2019 and 2023 in England. The last time England won in Australia was 2010-11, when I debuted. So we’ve been dominating Ashes cricket for a long time and that is the bigger picture. England is going to have to come back here and beat us and do something they haven’t done for a very long time.

Usman Khawaja also talked about his opening partner after David Warner and pointed out a few names who can take up the spot.

“Marcus Harris has been travelling with us a lot, everywhere we go. It would be remiss to think that he is not the next in line to open the batting for Australia. (In Queensland) Matt Renshaw has been around and playing some beautiful cricket, and scored a Test hundred in Sydney early on (in his career). Then there’s the likes of Cameron Bancroft, who played really well too in WA and has played for Australia also,” he explained. 

David Warner during the Ashes 2023 talked about his retirement plans. He said that he will play his last game in the longest format of the game in January 2024 against Pakistan.