"I'm In The Top Six Batsmen": Usman Khawaja Hits Out At Selectors After Central Contract Snub

Usman Khawaja was one of the most high-profile player to face a central contract snub by Cricket Australia. The national selectors on Thursday named 20 men and 15 women who will be contracted for the next 12 months. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis are the others to miss out on the contract after having been part of the initial list last year.

Usman Khawaja has not made an appearance for Australia since being dropped from the Ashes tour mid-way last year. Marnus Labuschange, who was roped in as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith, has consistently performed and Khawaja continues to be overlooked by the national selectors.

Usman Khawaja: I still feel like I’m one of the top six batsmen in the country

Usman Khawaja, without sounding arrogant, has reminded the selectors that he is still one of the top six batsmen in Australia. He said, he has still years to play, and was performing for the national team. Khawaja also believes he played the spin well and scored runs for the country.

“Without sounding arrogant, I still feel like I’m one of the top six batsmen in the country,” he told Fox Sports.

He argued “if you’re performing, you’re performing; it’s not like I’m 37 or 38 and coming into right at the end of my career”.

“My playing against spin has been right up there as some of the best in the county. Bar maybe Steve Smith, who is an absolute genius,” he said.

“But the most important thing is to score runs,” he added.

Khawaja has represented the national team in 44 Tests. The left-handed batsman has scored 2887 runs at an average of 40.66 in the longest format. He has also hit eight centuries and 14 half-centuries in the format.