Smith was seen visibly disappointed with his partner following a poor run-out late on the opening day of the first Test.
Usman Khawaja acknowledged that his error in judgement in the Steve Smith run-out on Day 1 of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka ruffled and “annoyed” his teammate a lot. But the Australian opener brushed aside claims of a rift between the duo because of it.
Khawaja said it’s all hunky-dory between him and Smith inside the change room and whatever disappointment Smith felt and disagreement they had about the possibility of the run was left on the field.
The incident relates to a horrible mix up between the duo late on the opening day of the first Test. With Australia already two down, the visitors suffered a painstaking third quick blow when Smith went off for a quick run but was denied by Usman Khawaja.
Smith tried to resurrect his ground at the batting end with a full-stretched dive but couldn’t. Visibly frustrated over the dismissal, the modern-day batting great walked off the outfield feeling let down by his batting partner.
Highly respectful of Smith’s feelings and understanding of his moment of anger, Usman Khawaja unveiled Smith, being a thorough professional and his friend, closed out the matter as soon as he reached the dressing room and they shared eye to eye later in the innings.
“Yeah, he did look annoyed. There’s nothing really to report. There wasn’t really too much to it. We’re both professional cricketers,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by Perth Now.
“Stuff on the field of play happens, and you just move on and push on. You’re always just looking to the future. If you’re looking to the past, it doesn’t help anyone; there’s not really much to report.”
WATCH: Steve Smith fumes at Usman Khawaja after terrible mix-up results in runout
The run-out was Khawaja’s fault after he aborted a run midway having initially agreed to a call for a quick single from Smith, who had to flick the ball versus Sri Lanka’s Ramesh Mendis but missed it and had a rebound off his pads to the off-side.
Smith couldn’t believe why Khawaja called off the run so suddenly and let his partner know his disappointment through angry hand gestures and throwing words of bemusement at him.
