Australia opener Usman Khawaja has stated that the criticism he received at the outset of the Ashes series for the back injury he sustained was racially motivated and that he had been angry and saddened by being treated differently from other Australian players throughout his career.

Khawaja gave a 50-minute news conference at the SCG on Friday to announce his retirement from international cricket after the fifth Test against England, which begins on Sunday.

In front of a sizable group of reporters, including his wife Rachel, two daughters, parents, and some members of his extended family, Khawaja spoke for the first time about his feelings following criticism for playing three days of golf before the Perth Test at the beginning of the Ashes, during which he experienced back spasms that prevented him from opening the batting.

The first Muslim to represent Australia in Test cricket, Khawaja was born in Pakistan. He claimed that the criticism was consistent with what he had encountered during his career.

"I've always felt a little bit different, even now. I'm a colored cricketer. The Australian cricket team is, in my opinion ... that's our best team. It's our pride and joy. But I've also felt very different in a lot of respects, different by the way I've been treated, and different in how things have happened.

I had back spasms, and that's something I couldn't control. But the way the media and the past players came out and attacked me, I could have copped it for two days, but I copped it for about five days straight. And it wasn't even about my performances,” Khawaja said, as per cricket.com.au.

"It was about something very personal; it's about my preparation. And the way everyone came at me about my preparation, it was quite personal in terms of things like, "He's not committed to the team," "He was only worried about himself," "He played this golf comp the day before," "He's selfish," "He doesn't train hard enough," "He didn't train with them the day before the game," and "He's lazy." These are the same stereotypes, the racial stereotypes I've grown up with my whole life.

I just thought that the media and the old players and everyone else had moved past it, but we obviously haven't fully moved past it, because I've never seen anyone being treated like that in the Australian cricket team before,” Khawaja stated.

Khawaja said he could cite countless other examples of players who had not received the same level of criticism he did, and that was because of his race.

"There's still a little bit out there, which I still have to fight every single day, which is the frustrating thing for me. I can give you countless numbers of guys who play golf the day before and have been injured. You guys haven't said a thing. No one else said a thing.

I can give you even more, probably guys who've had 15 schooners the night before and then got injured. No one said a word. That's all right. They're just being Aussie larrikins, right? They're just being lads. So for me, that was the frustrating part. But when I get injured, everyone goes after my credibility and who I am as a person,” Khawaja stated.

Khawaja also cited the example of him being criticized for attending the Australian Formula One Grand Prix after missing a domestic cricket game due to a hamstring injury, while Nathan Lyon did the same while managing a hip issue.

He also pointed out how Steve Smith skipped the rest of the domestic season post the Champions Trophy to spend time in New York.

"You guys had a crack at me for missing a game, yet plenty of my teammates, who were not playing, you didn't say a word to them. For me I've been dealing with this issue for a long time. And for me, I know I'm up here talking about topics, and people are like, "Okay, Uzzy's here; he's playing the race card again," but don't gaslight me.

I felt that I had to bring this up. I didn't want to talk about this, but I just want the journey for the next Usman Khawaja to be different. I want you to treat him or her all the same, not have racial stereotypes of who they might be. Treat them with the same cloak that you would treat any of the other wholesome cricketers that I play with,” Khawaja stated.

Usman Khawaja has scored 6206 runs in 87 Tests with 16 centuries and 28 fifties with an average of 43.39. He has also made 1554 runs in 40 ODIs, with two centuries and 12 fifties, and an average of 42. He also played 9 T20Is, scoring 241 runs with one fifty.

(ANI inputs)