Usman Khawaja has hit out against a culture of “racial stereotypes” in coverage of Australian cricket, declaring the sport is “still very white” as he announced his international retirement.
The fifth Ashes Test in Khawaja’s hometown of Sydney will be the final act of a 15-year career in the Baggy Green and the 39-year-old is not going quietly.
The Pakistan-born batter, Australia’s first Muslim Test cricketer, spoke for over 45 minutes at the SCG on Friday morning, telling reporters he was “off the leash now” as he railed against perceived inequalities in his treatment.
While many of his grievances were historic, he hit out at the way the back injury he suffered in the series opener against England was reported and received, suggesting he was singled out unfairly.
“I’ve always felt a little bit different, even to now. Different in the way I’ve been treated, different in how things have happened,” he said.
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Khawaja announced he will retire from international cricket after fifth Ashes Test against England
“When I did my back, I had back spasms, it was something I couldn’t control. The way the media and the past players came out and attacked me…I copped it for about five days straight. Everyone was piling in.
“Once the racial stereotypes came in, of me being lazy, it was things I’ve dealt with my whole life. Pakistani, West Indian, coloured players…we’re selfish, we only care about ourselves, we don’t care about the team, we don’t train hard enough.
“I just thought the media and old players and everyone else had moved past them, but we obviously haven’t moved past them. All these things came back and made me realise we’re not quite there.
“I can give you countless number of guys who have played golf the day before and been injured and you guys [media] haven’t said a thing. I can give you even more guys who have had 15 schooners [beers] the night before, then got injured, and no one’s said a word. That’s alright, they’re just being Aussie larrikins, just being lads.
“When I get injured, everyone went at my credibility and who I am as a person. Normally when someone gets injured, you feel sorry for them as a person. ‘Poor Josh Hazlewood’ or ‘poor Nathan Lyon’. We feel sorry for them and we don’t attack what happened to them.
“We’re a lot better and inclusive society than we’ve been before but there’s still a way to go because Australian cricket is still very white in a lot of respects.”
Khawaja made his Test debut against England at Sydney in 2011
Khawaja, who has scored over 6,000 Test runs in 87 appearances with 16 centuries, said he expected his words to go down badly with some but hoped to help smooth the path for others to follow in his footsteps.
“I know I’m here talking about topics and people will say: ‘Uzzie’s here, he’s playing the race card again.’ I know people are trying to nail me. But don’t gaslight me,” he said.
“Where we are at today, Islamophobia is still very rife. I speak about it. I didn’t want to talk about this, but I just want the journey for the next Usman Khawaja to be different.
“I’m hoping the journey for the next Usman Khawaja is a bit easier and we get to a line, however many generations in, where that Usman Khawaja is the same as John Smith. That’s what I’ve been trying to champion to the whole time.
“I call myself the people’s champ. not because I think everyone loves me but because I speak about things for the people, that other people don’t want to speak about.”
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