Usman Khawaja’s early encounter with Brendon McCullum remains etched in his memory—not for a warm welcome, but for an intense verbal barrage. During the 2011 Test series between Australia and New Zealand, Khawaja faced what he described as the harshest sledging he’d ever experienced on the international stage.

“He absolutely tore shreds off me,” Usman Khawaja said in a candid reflection shared with Fox Cricket. “He sledged the crap out of me, like I’d never been sledged in international cricket before.” But the Brendon McCullum Khawaja met four years later was a very different person. By 2015, McCullum had become a global figure of sportsmanship, leading a New Zealand side celebrated for its fairness and respect on the field.

His transformation even earned him the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award. Gone was the snarling competitor; in his place was a leader who had consciously ended sledging within his own camp, though not without drawing some ridicule. Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson famously mocked this newfound non-confrontational approach.

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“It was really bizarre,” Usman Khawaja said. “A few years later when we played against him and he was captain… he was a totally different person. He was chilled and just went about his business.” The shift was so striking that after Australia’s 2016 tour of New Zealand—McCullum’s last in Test cricket—Khawaja decided to bring it up during the post-series gathering. McCullum owned up to his past behavior, offering a sincere apology.

“I won’t say exactly the words he used,” Usman Khawaja recalled, “but he basically said, ‘Yeah, I was a bit of a…’ and acknowledged that he’d learned and matured.” Khawaja expressed admiration for this kind of personal growth. “I respect someone who can look back and say, ‘Yeah, I probably wasn’t behaving the way I wanted to.’”

McCullum himself has been open about his journey. In his autobiography, he recounted moments of regret, particularly the infamous 2006 incident where he ran out Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan as he was celebrating Kumar Sangakkara’s ton—a decision that plagued him for years.

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“I wasted a few years trying to be brash and arrogant,” Brendon McCullum wrote. “It was a false attitude, not true to my character.” Khawaja’s insight offers a rare look at how two rivals evolved—one through self-reflection, the other through forgiveness—a reminder that cricket is not just about performance, but personal growth.