In absence of David Warner, who has been banned by Cricket Australia for his involvement in the ball-tampering incident earlier this year, former Test opener Simon Katich has said it is Usman Khawaja who should be given the responsibility to start off the innings in Test match cricket for Australia.
He has been batting at no.3 and so, Katich feels, with one spot guaranteed to Matt Renshaw, it is Usman Khawaja who should be able to naturally shift a place above in the order.
Katich was quoted saying on SEN's Whateley program as, "I think they need some seniority at the top of the order and given he (Khawaja) has batted at three it might actually suit him to get out there and get into it straight away, He is an opener from way back when he first started playing club cricket."
Although Khawaja has a poor record in Asia - an average of 14.62 across nine innings - he has picked for the "A" tour of India, which is currently seen as an audition for places for the Test series against Pakistan in UAE.
The other player Katich talked about is Matt Renshaw. Who, having been dropped from the side before the Ashes at home, was drafted into the playing eleven for the last Test in South Africa on the back of his terrific Sheffield Shield season. Renshaw has since scored a lot of runs in the County Championship this year and is also part of the squad for two unofficial Tests in India.
"The one positive for me recently is that Matt Renshaw made a lot of County runs in England, which is a great sign for a young player. He'll definitely get a look-in at the start of the Australian summer if he can back it up with some Shield runs and potentially some runs on this A tour (in India). I think he's done a fair bit since he's been dropped so in terms of runs on the board you can't fault what he's done playing for Queensland last year and in England for Somerset."
"I'd say he's going to be a frontrunner for that role. Who opens with him? I think the Pakistan series might tell a few stories. It wouldn't surprise me if Usman Khawaja opened in that series," he added.
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)
