Published: Sep 14, 2015, 06:42 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 15, 2015, 01:12 PM (IST)
Usman Khawaja was on Monday picked for the two-Test series against Bangladesh. Khawaja suffered a serious ankle injury that kept him out for over nine months. He says that he is excited with his selection and recounts of how and when he heard the good news. “We came off for lunch, I saw I had a missed call from Rod Marsh, I called him back and he gave me the good news. So I was pretty excited, but then I had to go out and field for 50 overs. It took my mind off it a little bit but it was a nice afternoon,” Khawaja recounted. READ: Bangladesh vs Australia 2015: Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khawaja return as Australia name Test squad
Khawaja could have made it to the Australian squad in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, but a severe knee injury ensured that he was sidelined for over seven months. “I felt like I was a million miles off just playing cricket,” Khawaja said, according to cricket.com.au.
“You never cater for being off for more than a few weeks, but I got told I was out for six to nine months which was tough to hear. For me it was just about getting back on the park. A lot of hard work has gone in from where I was nine months ago. To be honest I’m just happy to be playing cricket again and this [Test selection] is a bit of a bonus,” he added. READ: Glenn Maxwell wants to become regular member of Australian Test squad
Australia coach Darren Lehmann has a lot of faith in Khawaja, terming him as a long-term prospect in the Australian top-order. “The way he’s played over the past few years I think he’s showed [he’s ready],” Lehmann said.
Khawaja is not however getting too carried away by Lehmann’s kind words for him. “It makes no difference to me,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’ve had that chance the last couple of times with the exact same thing but it hasn’t worked out. So for me it’s about going out there, watching the ball, hitting the ball when I bat, and doing what I can in the field to help my team out. I’m a big-picture kind of guy, there’s a lot to look forward to, [but] I’m just enjoying my cricket at the moment, I’m really happy to just be out there again, Khawaja said. READ: Peter Siddle feels Australia will opt for two pacer, two spinner attack in Bangladesh Tests
Khawaja also hopes that he has improved since the last time he played Test cricket, which was a couple of years ago against England. “I hope I’ve improved, it’s been two years [since his last Test],” Khawaja said.
“He went on the 2013 Ashes tour and probably didn’t play as well as he would have liked. But he’s gone back and done exactly what, as a coach [I want to see]. He’s changed his game a little bit and delivered what we wanted, which was a thirst of runs in all formats. We think he can actually play a lot of Test cricket for us. He’ll get a good opportunity at it, a good run and he’s one of the guys we talked about at the end of the [Ashes] Test series,” he added.
Khawaja went on to say, “You’re always trying to improve. I’d like to think I am [a better player now] but at the same time there’s always hard work to be done. Talk is cheap. You’ve got to go out there, score runs, take catches for you team and contribute. That’s all you can do.”
