Usman Khawaja not bothered by 'perception' that he can't play spin

In the absence of suspended duo Steve Smith and David Warner, Khawaja will be a key cog in the Australia team that takes on Pakistan on the spin-friendly pitches of UAE in the Test series starting 7 October.

The 31-year-old has a decent overall Test average of 42, but in five Tests in Asia to date he has scored only 117 runs at 14.62. As a result, there have been some questions about Khawaja's ability against the turning ball.

But the left-handed batsman said he didn't read into those doubts, and recent performances with the A side in India have bolstered his case. "They're all perceptions, they're all what people may think," he told cricket.com.au on Thursday, 27 September.

"That's the reason I don't bother paying too much attention [to] what happens outside this little bubble. I've got a lot of teammates around me, we're all looking after each other, the coaches are around here to support you."

Khawaja said that his focus was to win matches for Australia, and lavished praise on his teammates and support staff. "The number one goal is trying to do whatever I can to help my team win, whether that's a hard knock of 30 off 200 balls in the second innings, or a big hundred in the first innings."

This will be Australia's first Test series since Smith, Warner and Bancroft were banned for their involvement in the ball-tampering saga that broke out in South Africa in March. Smith and Warner, in particular, were the backbone of Australia's batting and it will be interesting to see how the team performs in the absence of the experienced duo.

Khawaja pointed out that there was no shortage of experience in the squad. "The make-up of the team right now – you don't need to be a Test player to be an experienced player.

"I've grown up playing with people like (Aaron) Finch, who's the same age. 'Siddsy' (Peter Siddle) has got truckloads (of experience), so has (Mitchell) Starc, (Matt) Renshaw for a young fella has played a lot of cricket and Shaun Marsh has played a lot."