Khawaja was diagnosed with this condition in 2009 at the age of 22.
Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja kept his diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis a secret throughout his entire 15-year international cricket career.
The southpaw, who retired from international cricket in January 2026, opened up for the first time about his chronic autoimmune condition in an episode of ABC's Australian Story.
Khawaja was diagnosed in 2009 at the age of 22 during the off-season while playing for New South Wales. Severe pain in his left knee left him unable to walk 10 meters to the bathroom, leading him to fear a terminal illness and death.
"I genuinely thought I was going to die. I went from being an athlete who was playing professional cricket to not being able to walk 10 metres to the bathroom," Khawaja said.
He kept the condition hidden from teammates—including close friends like David Warner and Michael Hussey—to avoid special treatment or vulnerability, though medical and coaching staff knew.
"If a person can play at the top level as a professional cricketer with rheumatoid arthritis, then I think a lot of other people can achieve a lot too," Khawaja added. He will share a detailed account of his illness in soon-to-be-released autobiography, Sabr.
The 39-year-old credited regular injections of a management drug as a "godsend" that allowed him to resume training six months later.
"Without that drug," Usman said, "I would never have played cricket again or even lived a normal life."
He also acknowledged the support of legendary figures such as Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist for helping him settle into the Australian cricket team.
"They're the ones that dragged me over to the Australian cricket team. I started supporting Australia a lot more and eventually, after that, it was just Australia, Australia, Australia."
Born in Pakistan before moving to Australia at a young age, Khawaja spoke about the deeply entrenched cultural and societal assumptions he faced from within his own community when dreaming of playing at the highest level.
"They're like, 'Oh yeah, you're good but you'll never play for Australia because they don't pick our kind, they don't pick brown people to play for Australia, there's too much racism. You'll never get there.'"
However, Usman Khawaja proved them wrong as he went to play 88 Tests (6,229 runs), 40 ODIs (1,554 runs) and 9 T20Is (241 runs) for Australia.