Australia veteran calls time on career

Australia batter Usman Khawaja has announced his retirement from international cricket, set to draw curtains on his career at the end of the Sydney Ashes Test that begins on January 4.

Usman Khawaja called a press conference and made the announcement with his family by his side two days out from the match, ahead of the team's net session with the Aussies aiming to claim another 12 World Test Championship points and finish the series as 4-1 victors.

“I’m here to announce today that I will be retiring from all international cricket after the SCG Test match,” Khawaja told the press.

“God through cricket has given me far more than I could have imagine. 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, thank you for your sacrifices that never made the highlights reel.”

In a career spanning 15 years, Khawaja has amassed over 8000 international runs across formats, while featuring in 87 Tests, 40 ODIs, and nine T20Is.

Known for his resilience at the top of the order, Khawaja fittingly ends his career in his home town of Sydney, where he also made his debut against England in 2011.

“Funnily enough, I live just up the road from the SCG, on Cook Road, to be exact,” he said.

"And as a boy, whose parents were barely scraping through in trying to provide for their kids in a little two-bedroom apartment, I thought, ‘One day, I’m going to be a Test cricketer.'”

It was also at the SCG where he revived his career as a 35-year-old, scoring a pair of centuries against England when Travis Head missed the match in early 2022 with Covid.

It led to a final career spark, hitting seven centuries in his first two years back in the side, and a World Test Championship win in 2023.

Khawaja for his efforts was named ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year for 2023.