Australia Player Makes Major Announcement Ahead of Fifth Ashes Test
The fifth Ashes Test takes place in Sydney on January 4.
Ryan Smart
Australia batter Usman Khawaja has announced that he will retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Khawaja, who turned 39 during the third Test in Adelaide, will call time on a Test career that has spanned 15 years.
He debuted during the fifth Test of the 2010/11 home Ashes series, which Australia lost, and has gone on to score over 6,000 runs at an average of 43.36 with 16 centuries.
He also played 42 one-day internationals for Australia, scoring 1,554 runs at 42.
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The opener suffered a back spasm during the first Test of the current series in Perth that forced him to sit out the second Test.
He returned in Adelaide in a more unfamiliar batting position of four due to Steve Smith's absence, and scored 82 in the first innings to help Australia win the Test and move 3-0 ahead to retain the Ashes.
Khawaja batted at number three for large parts of his Test career, but the decision to move him up to open in recent years solved a long-term dilemma over a partner for, and then a successor to, David Warner at the top of the order.
He initially struggled on subcontinent wickets but eventually found significant success, with his highest Test score of 232 coming against Sri Lanka in January 2025.
Khawaja was out of form heading into the Ashes series, after a run of nine innings without a half-century since his marathon knock in Galle.
After being forced to leave the field during England's batting innings at Perth and subsequently being forced to bat at four, Khawaja scored just two runs to place further pressure over his position.
Now, he has announced that he will call time on his career after the fifth Test in Sydney.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday morning Australian time, he said: "I'm here to announce today that I will be retiring from all international cricket after the SCG Test match.
"God through cricket has given me far more than I could have imagined. He's given me memories I'll carry forever, friendship that goes well beyond the game, and lessons that shaped me, who I am, off the field.
"But no career belongs to one person. I obviously had a lot of help. To my parents, who are over there, thank you for your sacrifices that never made the highlights reel."
After increasing question marks over his future in recent months, Australia fans will now be able to celebrate the career of one of their most accomplished batters of the current era in Sydney.
Khawaja was introduced to the Australian Test side at one of its lowest-ever points, after Australia failed to regain the Ashes at home in 2011.
He replaced Ricky Ponting in the number three role for Australia, and while he was in and out of the team for nearly five years after that, Khawaja finally appeared to have a settled spot in the team after scoring 305 runs in two Tests against New Zealand in 2015.
He watched on from the number three spot as Australia tried and tested a number of openers alongside Warner over the matches to come.
It was ironically a mid-game injury to Warner, which forced him to miss the start of Australia's batting innings, that elevated Khawaja to open the batting against South Africa at Adelaide in 2016.
He responded with a superb innings of 145, and was moved to open in 2018 when Warner and Cameron Bancroft both served bans as a result of the ball-tampering scandal.
Then came the 2019 Ashes, where Khawaja, back at number three, failed to convince with a series of low scores. It wouldn't be until 2022 when he played another Test.
Since his return to the team - this time as a near-permanent opener - Khawaja has scored eight of his 16 Test centuries.
As well as his home country, Khawaja has hit tons in India, England and Pakistan over the past three years - and will hope to end his career with another in Sydney.