Former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie has said that a couple of years ago he felt Usman Khawaja’s time has come to an end and he did not feel the batter could make a comeback into the Australian Test team as well. However, Khawaja registered his first Ashes Hundred in English soil on Saturday and made everyone proved wrong as well.
However, since his return to the Test team in January 2022, Usman Khawaja has been in sublime form. On Friday, June 17 at Edgbaston, on Day 2 of the opening Ashes 2023 Test, he smashed an unbeaten 126 off 279 balls as well. In a column for the Daily Mail, Gillespie applauded the 36-year-old batter for proving him wrong.
He wrote: “A couple of years ago, I saw Usman Khawaja play for Queensland in a Sheffield Shield game when I was coaching South Australia. I remember saying: ‘I think he’s past it. I don’t think there’s much left. I felt he was a bit slow and he was battling. I thought his time was nearly done. Well, he has certainly proved me wrong and I am delighted to admit it. You love it when players show they still have more to give.”
READ MORE: Sanjay Manjrekar dissects Virat Kohli’s poor show in WTC Final
The former Aussie pacer further added: “It all goes back to that sliding doors moment in January 2022, when Travis Head caught Covid before the fourth Ashes Test and Usman got the opportunity and scored a hundred in each innings. He wasn’t expecting that chance and is now playing every game as if it’s his last, with a real clear mind.”
Comparing Usman Khawaja with former Aussie batter Justin Langer, the veteran recalled how Langer replaced Slater as well. However, Khawaja scored 137 and 101* in his comeback Test in Sydney last year and since then he hasn’t looked back.
“It reminds me of the time Justin Langer replaced Michael Slater for the final Test of the Ashes in 2001. He thought he was in the last-chance saloon and so he had that attitude of, ‘I’m just going to make the most of this. I’m going to enjoy the battle, enjoy the challenge, just play and have fun.’“Justin went on to have one of the great careers with that attitude and mindset. And I see a lot of similarities between the situation Justin was in and where Usman finds himself now,” he shared.
READ MORE: Harbhajan Singh says Australia have the upperhand in the WTC final
“What I love about Usman is his resilience, which he showed once again at Edgbaston on Saturday. It was an outstanding knock against some very good bowling. His strike-rate was well below England’s batsmen but he just played his own game.“His job is just to bat. He has got a very simple game. He left really well and jumped on anything short with great pull shots. I also loved his intent against Moeen Ali. He really took him on down the ground,” Gillespie concluded.
