Australia batter Usman Khawaja has announced that he will retire immediately from international cricket following the final Ashes Test in Sydney, which gets under way this weekend.
Khawaja has played in 87 Tests for the Baggy Greens, scoring 6,206 runs at an average of 43.39 and he will make his final appearance at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia do not play another Test match until they face Bangladesh in August so the 39-year-old, whose Test scoring average has dipped in the last two calendar years amid form struggles, has decided to bring his career to a close.
With Australia already having retained The Ashes, it affords Khawaja, who made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008, the chance to bow out in fairytale fashion.
“I’m here to announce today that I’ll be retiring from all international cricket after the SCG Test match,” Khawaja told reporters at the ground, where the fifth Test begins from 11.30pm Saturday UK time.
“Cricket has given me far more than I ever imagined. It’s given me memories I’ll carry forever, friendships that go well beyond the game, and lessons that shaped who I am off the field.”
Usman Khawaja made his Test debut against England at Sydney in 2011 (PA Images)
The Islamabad-born batter injured his back in the Ashes opener in Perth and missed the second Test before initially being dropped from the team for the third in Adelaide.
He was recalled at the eleventh hour after Steve Smith suffered a bout of vertigo and, batting at number four rather than opening, scored 82 and 40 as Australia won by 82 runs to clinch the series and retain the urn.
Khawaja, whose parents emigrated to Australia when he was eight years old, became the first Australian of Pakistani origin to represent the country.
Since making his debut in the 2010-11 Ashes series, at the same he has gone on to score 16 Test centuries for Australia.
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Despite losing the series, Joe Root says England will look to build on their victory over Australia in the fourth Ashes Test as they prepare for the fifth and final game in Sydney
By announcing his decision prior to the Sydney Test, Aussie fans will now get the perfect chance to say farewell to Khawaja in his final two innings.
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke predicted Khawaja’s retirement earlier this week, telling CODE Sports: “Hopefully, he goes out with a big score. I’d love to see Uz make a hundred at the SCG and walk away on a high because not many people get that opportunity.”
Khawaja confirmed he will continue to play Big Bash and Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia, but his 88th Test will be his last.
