Usman Khawaja will bring his international career to a close at the end of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney, confirming the match at the ground where he grew up watching cricket will be his last.
The left-hander will play his 88th Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, announcing his decision on Friday morning with his extended family present, including his parents, wife Rachel and their two children. Teammates were informed shortly before training, two days out from the series finale against England.
Khawaja had kept his plans private through the early part of the summer, but the oldest member of the current Test side has now decided to step away a fortnight after turning 39. The timing allows for a traditional Sydney farewell at a venue that has framed much of his cricket life.
Thirty runs in his final innings would take him past Michael Hussey’s 6,235 Test runs and into 14th place among Australian men. He will finish as one of the country’s most productive batters, having scored 6,206 runs at an average of 43.39, with 16 hundreds and 28 half-centuries.
Born in Islamabad before his family settled in Sydney, Khawaja watched matches at the SCG as a child before making his first-class debut there in 2008 and his Test debut in 2011. That first Test came in difficult circumstances, batting at No.3 in the final match of the 2010–11 Ashes series after Ricky Ponting was injured. Scores of 37 and 21 offered a glimpse of promise during a turbulent period for Australian cricket.
As Australia’s first Muslim men’s Test cricketer, he has been a clear and steady voice against racism and for broader pathways into the game for Australians of South Asian background
What followed was a career defined by persistence. Despite early success, Khawaja played only eight Tests across almost five years after moving to Queensland, dropped and recalled through tours of Sri Lanka, home summers and overseas campaigns. By the time he underwent knee reconstruction surgery in 2014, his Test average sat just above 25.
Even when form surged, security never followed. He scored four hundreds in five Tests during the 2015–16 home season, yet was later left out again in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as questions lingered about his play against spin. Those setbacks hardened his resolve.
One of the clearest expressions of that resilience came in Dubai in 2018. As the senior batter in Australia’s first Test after the sandpaper scandal, Khawaja made 85 and then 141 against Pakistan, the second innings stretching across nine hours to save the match and steady a shaken team.
After another omission during the 2019 Ashes, he accepted the possibility that his Test career might be over at 44 matches. Instead, fate offered a second act. Twin hundreds in the 2021–22 Ashes at the SCG reignited his career and began the most consistent stretch of his time in the side, opening the batting alongside childhood friend David Warner.
Beyond the numbers, Khawaja’s presence has carried weight off the field. As Australia’s first Muslim men’s Test cricketer, he has been a clear and steady voice against racism and for broader pathways into the game for Australians of South Asian background.
He will also leave with 40 one-day internationals and nine T20 internationals to his name, including two ODI centuries. When he walks out for the final time in Sydney, it will close a career marked by patience, resolve and a sense of unfinished business finally met on his own terms.
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