Despite amassing a double century in Sri Lanka earlier this year, Usman Khawaja might be under pressure to perform again.
Since David Warner’s retirement, Australia have tried various opening batters at the top. They have used four batters – Steve Smith, Sam Konstas, Travis Head, and Nathan McSweeney – but haven’t settled on a combination yet. Now they are likely to choose another batter, Marnus Labuschagne, as an opener for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final.
The common batter amidst all the chop and change has been Usman Khawaja, who has been among the finest openers in red-ball cricket. He had a great peak in between, where Khawaja established himself as a premium Aussie batter in the longest format. However, his recent form has not been too convincing, which means the spotlight will be on him again.
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Despite amassing a double century in Sri Lanka earlier this year, Usman Khawaja might be under pressure to perform again. After two solid years, Khawaja’s form dipped considerably, and while he occasionally scored runs, those consistent performances went missing. The drop started from the Pakistan series in 2023/24, where he scored 220 runs at an average of 36.66 in six outings, with only one fifty.
Then, Khawaja scored 139 runs at an average of 46.33 in four innings against the West Indies, with one fifty. 53.95% of his runs came in a single innings, and he couldn’t do anything significant in other innings. An away series against New Zealand saw him endure one of his worst performances ever.
Khawaja could only accumulate 139 runs at an abysmal average of 22 in four innings, with a best of 33. Only once did he cross the 30-run mark and look horribly out of form. What followed was more horrible: a testing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he was Bumrah’d.
The southpaw could only score 184 runs at a mediocre average of 20.44 in ten outings, with only fifty. He was dismissed in a single-digit score four times and crossed the 30-run mark only twice throughout the rubber. This series clearly showed that his reflexes against quality bowlers were slowing.
Fortunately, he found some form in Sri Lanka, where he hit a fabulous double ton, scoring 232. Khawaja also did reasonably well in other innings, but those conditions weren’t too tough to score runs, and Sri Lanka’s bowling attack lacked the quality to pose challenging questions consistently. Other batters were equally prolific, so it’s hard to draw any conclusion based on this series.
At 38, Usman Khawaja’s reflexes are not among the quickest, which means he will be in for a massive test against South Africa in the WTC 2025 final. The Proteas have a ruthless pace attack, and the new ball will be arduous for Khawaja. His record against Kagiso Rabada is not too great either.
The southpaw has been dismissed five times and averages a mere 30.80 against the premium South African quick. Keshav Maharaj has also removed him thrice in 11 innings. Similarly, his numbers in English conditions are also decent but not too encouraging.
Khawaja has 745 runs at an average of 31.04 in 24 innings, comprising four fifties and a century. Four of his five 50+ scores came in the Ashes 2023, where conditions were relatively flat. He has failed to cross the 30-run mark in 62.50% of outings in England.
Given his recent struggles, the odds are against Khawaja in this big game. The opposition will be relentless, the conditions will be unforgiving, and the pressure will be towering. If Khawaja succeeds, this will go down as one of his finest performances of his career.
Australia desperately need Usman Khawaja to step up in this ultimate clash, and their chances will heavily depend on his performance. As mentioned above, Marnus Labuschagne will open the innings, and he doesn’t have experience at the top. He has never opened the innings at this level, and his recent form has also been dwindling.
Since 2023, he has 1325 runs at a middling average of 31.54 in 47 innings, with only one century. These numbers don’t inspire enough confidence, and Labuschagne himself is under immense pressure to perform to keep his spot. To face a new ball against a solid pace attack can exacerbate his case.
Meanwhile, Cameron Green might bat at No.3, and he is also new to this batting position. He has never batted above No.4 in Test cricket, and while his recent form in County Cricket has been terrific, the quality of the bowling attack will be too high. Hence, his chances of succeeding are not as high in such a new role.
That means Khawaja, who is batting at his preferred spot, must do the heavy lifting in the top order. He has the experience, and the team has backed him enough despite average returns. If he fails now, the road ahead can be hard for Khawaja, who will turn 39 later this year.
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