Left-handed opener Usman Khawaja is confident of finding a place in Australia’s XI amid a debate growing over his exclusion for the third Ashes Test, slated to begin on December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.
Although the southpaw has expressed readiness for the fixture by declaring himself ‘100 percent fit', his selection in the playing XI remains uncertain.
After Australia emerged victorious in the first two Ashes Tests with the opening pair of Travis Head and Jake Weatherald, Khawaja said he remains unfazed by the rumors surrounding his playing future.
"I'm still valued by the team, still asked to be here to play, so I'm here. I'm always mindful of the future, I always have been. I'm not here to hang on, I'm just here to enjoy my cricket. As long as I'm valued I'm here, I'm doing my job. I just like to compete. I can bat so many different ways. I've been successful in all formats, I've got gears when I want to. My sample size will tell you that you've got to find a way to be consistent for a long period of time, not just over a game or two,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.
"I am the guy who, as much as people sometimes want to have a have a crack at me, I love playing for Australia, I'm still very committed. I train hard, I do everything right. So for me, it's irrelevant (what others say). For me, it's more about just being a professional. People can have opinions that's absolutely no worries to me. I can't sit down and worry about what other people think, especially outside of the squad,” he added.
During the Ashes opener at Perth, Khawaja sustained back spasms and wasn’t able to open in the first innings due to time spent off the field. His condition deteriorated when he took the field for Australia's second bowling innings, ultimately ending his time at the Gabba Test.
The Australian team management is now unsure whether to stick with the new strategy or revert to their pre-series approach following Head's whirlwind ton in the second innings at Perth and his lightning-fast partnership with Weatherald at Gabba, where the pair built stands of 77 off 79 and 37 off 35.
"I've got to be totally honest, it doesn't really faze me. The older I've got, the more comfortable I've got with things that I can control and things that I can't. And I feel really good in terms of I'm ready to go. The rest of it is not in my control. So we'll see what happens,” Khawaja said of the speculation.
"I'm probably a bit more structured in how I'm trying to get ready for this next game. I won't do too much today – I just came straight off the flight. I'll walk, loosen up and stretch, then work my way up tomorrow. I've never enjoyed doing stuff the day of flights anyway, but I'm probably bit more cautionary about it now.
"I think that was half the reason why what happened (in Perth) happened – the long flight, a six-hour flight, a bit of a delay didn't help. I did feel sore after it, so always be mindful of flights,” he remarked.
(With IANS Inputs)
