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Steven Smith: Usman Khawaja had enough opportunities in the subcontinent

The next challenge for Australia will be to bring their best against England in The Ashes that begins from November 23.

Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith © Getty Images
Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith © Getty Images

Usman Khawaja has been critical about the Australian selectors on many occasions, be it on racial grounds or him not making it to the playing XI, despite putting up good performance at home. Pat Howard, Australia’s Executive General Manager of High Performance, had mentioned players’ record on similar conditions would be taken into consideration in order to get selected.

Khawaja’s hot and cold performances have kept him away from the playing XI. Khawaja did receive a chance in the first Test against Bangladesh. But with scores of 1 and 1 in the Test, his chances look bleak further. Responding to Khawaja, skipper Steven Smith expressed his thoughts on the matter. Khawaja failed to live up to the expectations in subcontinent, opines Smith.

“He’s been magnificent here in Australia – I think he averages 60-odd. So he probably hasn’t adapted as well as we would’ve liked, and for that he hasn’t got the opportunities in the last couple of series. It’s always difficult – I think he had six months where he didn’t play a game of cricket, which is tough for a professional cricketer. So it was tough, and he’s talking his mind now, but I don’t completely agree with everything he says,” Smith told Fox Sports’ The Back Page.

Of the three-match Test series in Sri Lanka, Khawaja played two of them. He was dropped from the final Test as well as the India tour. He did return for the Bangladesh series but failed to create an impetus. Khawaja managed to score barely 57 runs at 9.5 off the six innings.

“You hear things like ‘the players are playing afraid’ or whatnot, but that’s what happens when you drop players all the time. I know as captain of Queensland I try and avoid that as much as possible; players I pick in the first game, I try to stick with them as long as possible, because they’ll always be the best players on the park,” added Smith.

Australia’s case in the subcontinent has not been pleasant as well. Over the past decade, Australia have won just 3 of 23 Tests. That had forced selectors to leave out certain players.

Matthew Wade has an axe looming over him after his poor form in the Bangladesh Tests ahead of Ashes 2017-18.

“(This year’s tour of) India, to be fair, was a stride in the right direction – I thought we played some pretty good cricket there. And then the second Test in Bangladesh, having lost the toss and having to bowl first, to win a Test match there was a good effort as well. So we’re certainly making strides in those conditions,” concluded Smith.

The next challenge for Australia will be to bring their best against England in The Ashes that begins from November 23.

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