Australia batsman Usman Khawaja said he is definitely in a more comforting place than he was before the timely chat with head coach Justin Langer, whose influence has got him thinking more positively in the middle of an uncertain period in his career. 

The left-hander finds himself out of Australia's Test and ODI outfits, with his recent international outing dating back August last year. After enjoying a fantastic run in the early part of 2019, Khawaja struggled during the 50-over World Cup and the Ashes in the UK. 

Read Also: Ricky Ponting opines on Usman Khawaja's ouster from national set-up 

Since then, the 33-year-old has been overlooked in preference of other options, including the ever-rising fellow Queenslander, Marnus Labuschagne. 

Not been picked for so long when he is approaching what are deemed the wrong side of the thirties, Khawaja said he was beginning to get frustrated before Langer came to his rescue. 

"There was a bigger squad (for the ongoing UK white-ball tour) so it was a little bit disappointing not to be in the team, but I mean I've been dropped and in and out of teams so many times that I've just learned to deal with it, much better than I would've say 10 years ago," he was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"I was a lot more disappointed when I first got left out of the Indian tour, because... at that time I felt like I very much belonged in that team, I was averaging 50 in one-day cricket for that period of time, I was in the top three or four run-scorers for the world in that year, so I didn't really understand it. It was a really frustrating decision, and I was really angry for a period of that time."

"Fortunately I talked to 'JL' (Langer) about three or four weeks after that happened... and got it all out in the open. It was a really good chat to have, and after that I've been really good; I've focused again on just worrying about my cricket. So it just shows you the importance of communicating, and it was nice to have that," Khawaja added. 

"You want to ask selectors if there's anything specific that's sticking out (regarding your non-selection) but in this case that's not it; in this case, I'm a top-order batsman and you've got Steve Smith, Dave Warner and the captain, Aaron Finch, ahead of me."

"I was hoping to be a spare batsman in that top order which I thought I might've been this (UK tour), but I wasn't, and that's OK."

Khawaja said Langer has conveyed to him that he is definitely still part of the selectors and team management's thinking. 

"We don't have many one-day games at the moment for me to stick my hand up but there's plenty of cricket coming up - there's Big Bash, plenty of red-ball cricket - and I still feel like there's a lot left for me on the horizon, and I'm making sure I'm focusing on that stuff rather than worrying about not being picked because I know how quickly things can change in cricket."

"I still feel like I'm pretty close (to national selection). Just speaking to JL, if there's something that happens with that (ODI) top order, I'm right up there - I was on standby for this tour too, so I still feel I'm very close."

"In four-day and Test match cricket I've had really good conversations with JL, too, and at the end of the day, I feel like I'm really close there. If I score runs, I put my hand up and give myself the best chance to bat in Test cricket anywhere in that top six. That's all I can do."

If the national comeback doesn't materialise, Khawaja foresees his future as a T20 globetrotter. He is particularly excited over the prospective return to the land of his birth if signed up by one of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams. 

"There are lots of competitions around the world which I haven't played in yet. I've played IPL, and T20 cricket in England, but I haven't played CPL (Caribbean Premier League) or even PSL (Pakistan Super League) yet, which would be nice to do."

"Pakistan is obviously where my family is from, it's where I was born and I'd love to get back there one day. I haven't been there for 11-12 years so I'd like to tick that off the bucket list, too."

"I've got a lot of support in Pakistan and it'd be nice to go back and see and meet some of those people," he concluded.