Tag: Usman Khawaja

KARACHI: Left-handed Australian opener Usman Khawaja took a hilarious dig at former India captain Kapil Dev’s remarks about the out-of-form batter Virat Kohli.

Kapil, stirred a debate with his infamous remarks about out-of-form Kohli when he said that dropping the former top-ranked batter from the T20I setup will not be a bad idea.

“Play in-form players when you have loads of options. You can’t just go by reputation, but you have to look for [the] current form. You can be an established player but that doesn’t mean that you will be given chances even if you fail five games in a row. Yes, there will be a headache, but he will have to perform better. If world No. 2 Test bowler Ashwin can be dropped from Test side then your No. 1 batter can also be dropped,” Kapil had told ABP News.

“I hope Kohli scores runs. And if there’s a [selection] challenge after that, it’s a big one. At the moment, Virat Kohli isn’t playing like the Kohli we know, the one that has made him a legend through his performances. If he isn’t performing, you can’t continue to keep these boys [youngsters] out. I hope there’s a healthy fight for selection, the youngsters should look to outperform Kohli. But Kohli needs to think, ‘yes at one point I was a big player, but I need to play like that No. 1 player again’. That’s a problem for the team, it’s not a bad problem,” he added.

Kapil’s statement gathered a lot of attention and even the International Cricket Council (ICC) posted a graphic of his quotes, to which Khawaja posted a cheeky reply.

“Averages 50 at almost 140. Good call. Australia Agrees,” Khawaja commented on ICC’s Instagram post with laughing emoticons.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by ICC (@icc)

It is pertinent to mention here that Kohli is going through a rough patch in international cricket as the right-handed batter has not scored a century since 2019.

READ: WATCH: England recall iconic moments of ICC World Cup 2019 Final 

GALLE: Australia’s left-handed opener Usman Khawaja and all-rounder Cameron Green scored half-centuries as Australia secured a dominant 101-run lead on a rain-hit second day of the ongoing first Test.

Resuming at an overnight score of 98/3, the touring side soon found themselves in a state of bother as left-handed batter Travis Head perished without adding to his overnight score of six.

Khawaja then joined hands with Green and marched towards the total as the pair added a valiant 57 runs for the fifth wicket before the former made his way as he fell short to Jeffery Vandersay, who provided an important breakthrough to his side with his first wicket in the longest format.

Khawaja played a magnificent knock of 71 off 130 deliveries, laced with seven boundaries.

Following his departure, Green and wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey took the charge and piled 84 runs for the sixth wicket and bolstered Australia to take the lead.

The pair appeared solid with Green amassing his fourth Test century and Carey just five short of it before Ramesh Mendis trapped the latter to provide a glimmer of hope for the struggling hosts. The right-handed batter scored 45 off 47 balls with the help of six boundaries.

The touring side then lost two wickets at an alarming rate and slipped to 278/8 with Green and Mitchell Starc walking back to the pavilion in two consecutive overs respectively. Green remained the top scorer with 77 off 109 balls, laced with six boundaries, while Starc could only score 10.

The skipper Pat Cummins and Australia’s last day’s hero with the ball Nathan Lyon then added a crucial 35 runs till the conclusion of a rain-affected second day. Cummins (26) and Lyon (8) will now resume the proceedings for Australia at 313/8 on the third day.

Mendis was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka following his four wickets, while Vandersay impressed with his two. Dhananjaya de Silva, on the other hand, made one scalp.

READ: PHF announces to hold the first-ever Hockey league ‘The Max’

GALLE: Australia’s off-spinner Nathan Lyon enjoyed a magnificent outing as he bagged an economical five-fer before the left-handed opener Usman Khawaja gave touring side a solid foundation on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.

After opting to bat first, the home side could only manage to score 212 despite a brilliant fifty from the wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella as the Australian spin attack undone his efforts to give their side an upper hand.

The hosts kept losing wickets at a regular interval and none of their batters besides Angello Mathews and Dickwella could resist much and fell short against the strong Australian bowling attack.

Dickwella top-scored for his side with a quick 58 off 59 balls, laced with six boundaries but he too could not take his side out of danger as Lyon struck for his fourth to end his astonishing knock. Matthews, on the other hand, was the notable run-getter as he scored 39 off 71.

For Australia, Lyon bagged five while Mitchell Swepson claimed three. The pacers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc made one scalp each.

In response to Sri Lanka’s 212, the Australian openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja provided a solid foundation to the side as they put on a decent 47 runs for the first wicket.

Warner, who was scoring at a rapid pace, however, fell in the 10th over as Ramesh Mendis trapped the left-hander in his legs for 25. He faced 24 deliveries and smashed five boundaries.

The touring side then suffered a brief collapse as they slipped from 47-0 to 83-3 in exactly 10 overs. Khawaja, on the other hand, held his ground firm and kept the scoreboard ticking till the conclusion of the first day, whereas, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith perished cheaply amid the collapse.

Khawaja, who is three short of his half-century, will now resume the proceedings for Australia at 98/3 along with his counterpart Travis Head (6) on the second day of the ongoing Test.

Mendis with his two wickets remained the only Sri Lankan bowler to have opened his account on the first day.

READ: Tsitsipas sinks brave Ritschard, storms into Wimbledon second round

DUBAI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq has moved into the top 10 of the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI Men’s Batting Rankings following his brilliant century against Australia in the first ODI on Tuesday.

As per the latest rankings, shared by the ICC, the left-handed opener moved up two places to achieve the 10th spot in the top ODI batters.

The star with the ball for Australia in the first ODI – Adam Zampa, has jumped six places to secure the ninth rank, shared with his Aghanistan counterpart, Rashid Khan.

Major changes in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Men’s Player Rankings for Tests and ODIs 👀

More ➡️ https://t.co/MsmAFEH2gG pic.twitter.com/5Cr3GbWccp

— ICC (@ICC) March 30, 2022

In the Test rankings, however, Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has replaced New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson to claim the fifth rank in the Test bowlers’ rankings.

On the other hand, the man of the series of the recently concluded Benaud-Qadir Trophy between Pakistan and Australia – Usman Khawaja has leapt six places to claim his career-best seventh rank, while his countryman Steve Smith has moved to the second spot.

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne remained the top Test batter, while Pakistani skipper Babar Azam still leads the ODI and T20I batting rankings.

READ: Former Pakistan Test cricketer Atiq moves to England for batting scout role

KARACHI: Australia’s centurion on the opening day of the second Test of the ongoing Benaud-Qadir Trophy Usman Khawaja revealed that the touring side has set their sights on a score of 450 to 500, here on Saturday.

Usman, while talking to the media after the conclusion of the opening day of the Karachi Test, has revealed the team’s plan to score more than 450 runs in the first innings.

“We will have to score anything more than 450 to keep the match in our favour and exert the pressure on the opposition batters,” he said.

Usman, who notched up his first century in Pakistan – his country of birth – said it is special for the left-handed batter.

“I think every century is special so does it. I felt really happy to hear the crowd chanting my name,” he said.

The left-handed batter further revealed that some of his relatives were present in the stadium and witnessed him scoring the century.

“Some of my relatives were in the stand. My mother also belongs to Karachi, so I am happy for her as well,” he said.

Australia’s centurion further acknowledged Pakistan’s bowling attack for keeping things tight for the batters and scored the flow of runs.

“I think it is hard for the pacers to bowl in hot weather conditions. But, I think they did exceptionally well to stop the flow of runs by tight bowling,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Usman notched up his first century in his country of birth here today and his 11th combined in Test cricket. The left-handed batter is country unbeaten with 127 and will resume Australia’s innings at 251/3 alongside the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon.

READ: ‘Australia got the upper hand by winning the toss’ Mohammad Rizwan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan-born Australian opening batter Usman Khawaja said it is an honor for the left-handed batter to be a part of Australia’s historic tour to Pakistan.

Usman, while talking to a virtual press conference revealed that he feels ‘very honored’ to be a part of the historic tour.

“It is an honor for me to play this historic series and tour Pakistan as I was born there, so yeah, it is a very special moment for me,” he said.

“Playing in Pakistan is an important moment for me, as I have always dreamt of playing in the country where I was born,” he added.

Usman, who was born in Pakistan but later moved to Australia and currently represents the latter in the longest format of the game, said that it will be his home crowd during the first Test.

“Rawalpindi crowd will be my home crowd but I will be representing Australia. I am hopeful of getting the chance to open the innings for the Aussies,” he said.

“I have always received immense support in Pakistan. The cricketing fans here appreciate good quality cricket,” he added.

Usman further commented on the Test series and said that the experience of playing cricket in the subcontinent will help him in the series.

“I have quite an experience of playing cricket in the subcontinent in the past which will help me to play in Pakistan,” he said.

“Most of the pitches of the sub-continent favor the spin but Rawalpindi is favorable for fast bowlers but we can expect a different pitch too,” he added.

The 35-years-old then revealed that he is currently enjoying playing Test cricket, while is also hopeful of performing well in all three matches against Pakistan.

The left-handed batter also recalled his childhood in Pakistan, revealing that he had attended a match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and had photographs of it. He also disclosed that after moving to Australia, he and his family have visited the country four times.

SYDNEY: Pakistan-born Australian batter, Usman Khawaja urged Australia to tour Pakistan, while talking to media on Sunday.

Khawaja emphasised the importance of Australia’s tour to Pakistan’s young cricket fans, who had never seen prominent international players play on their home turf, said the tour will ‘inspire generations’.

“I have always had great support in the subcontinent, Bangladesh, India, and particularly Pakistan where I was born. They were amazing even when I was there for the PSL (Pakistan Super League). I would like to go back there and play,” he said.

“I said to the guys, you can actually inspire a generation of cricketers who have never seen you play, never seen David Warner, Steve Smith, they see them on TV. You can actually inspire a generation by just going back over there,” he added.

Khawaja also has thrown his weight for the tour; requested Australia to give it back to the game.

“I think it is a great opportunity for Australian cricket to give a little back. I do not think that there is any better way to give it back to the game by touring countries like Pakistan, who have been deprived of cricket for so long,” he concluded.

In the recently concluded fourth Ashes Test, Khawaja scored two magnificent centuries in both innings; adjudged as the player of the match.

READ: England stick on for a thrilling final-over draw

Karachi: Australia’s left-handed batsman Usman Khawaja thinks that his country’s cricket team must visit Pakistan next year.
The five-time world champion last toured Pakistan in 1998. The 34-year-old Khawaja opined that there is no reason for Kangaroos to not visit the country.
“The responsibility is on Australia to tour Pakistan. I think Australia should one hundred percent tour Pakistan,” Khawaja said while talking to Cricwick.
“I think Pakistan in the last four or five years has showed enough that security here is extremely good, players are extremely comfortable coming here for the PSL, and so I think it’s an opportunity for Australia. I’ve heard England are also touring Pakistan this year. It will be good for cricket. Pakistan has played lot of cricket in Dubai, now they need to play at home,” he added.
It must be noted Australia are scheduled to tour Pakistan in February of 2022 for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.
Remember, Khawaja is in Abu Dhabi and will be representing Islamabad United in the remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021.

Read: Darren Lehmann hopeful of Australia touring Pakistan after 24 years