The Ashes: ‘Different’ Usman Khawaja expansive on wide-ranging issues at retirement press conference

Usman Khawaja has never fit the traditional mould of an Australian cricketer, having made as many headlines off the pitch as he did on it.

And as he stopped raging against the dying of the light and announced the fifth and final Test of The Ashes in Sydney would be his last at international level, the soon-to-be-40-year-old used a lengthy appearance in front of the media to hit back at his critics.

In a near hour-long press conference, Khawaja was expansive on how he felt criticism over a back injury in Perth was coloured by “racial stereotypes” and the personal toll of being outspoken on contentious political issues, such as the ongoing war in Gaza.

The Pakistan-born, Sydney-raised batter will play his 88th Test at the SCG, the same venue at which he compiled a stylish 37 on debut in 2011 and where he gave his career a second wind by posting twin centuries amid Travis Head’s absence due to COVID-19 in 2022.

The first Muslim cricketer to wear the baggy green and one who sported an unbranded shirt when playing One Day Internationals as his teammates promoted an alcohol sponsor said his journey across all levels of the game had been marked by how he had “always felt a little bit different”.

“The Australian cricket team, in my opinion, is our best team, it’s our national team, it’s our pride and joy, but I’ve also felt very different in a lot of respects. Different by the way I’ve been treated, different by how things have happened,” Khawaja said.

“I hope I’ve inspired many children along the way, particularly those who feel they are different, those who feel that they don’t belong, or those others tell that they will never make it. I felt all these things growing up and trying to be an Australian cricketer.

“I’m a proud Muslim coloured boy from Pakistan who was told that he would never play for the Australian cricket team. Look at me now. And you can do the same.”

Khawaja came under sustained criticism for being limited by a back injury which emerged during the first Ashes Test in Perth, having played several rounds of golf in the days before the game.

But he said he did not understand why he had been treated harsher than other players who had drunk “15 schooners” when preparing for a Test match.

“It (the criticism) was quite personal in terms of things like ‘he’s not committed to the team, he’s only worried about himself, he played this golf comp the day before, he’s selfish, he doesn’t train hard enough, he didn’t train the day before the game, he’s lazy’. These are the same stereotypes, the racial stereotypes, I’ve grown up with my whole life,” Khawaja said.

“I thought the media and the past players and everyone else had moved past them, but we obviously haven’t moved past them, because I’ve never seen anyone been treated like that in the Australian cricket team before — for their performances, yeah, but not for the uncontrollables, the way you guys (the media) went at me.

“I just want the journey for the next Usman Khawaja to be different. I want you to treat him or her all the same, not have racial stereotypes around who they might be.”

In the weeks after the war in Gaza broke out in 2023, Khawaja applied a sticker of a white dove on the back of his bat and penned the words ‘freedom is a human right’ and ‘all lives are equal’ on the side of his shoes.

Despite his pleas for the acts to be interpreted as humanitarian and not political, he was barred from taking to the field bearing the messages by the ICC.

After calling out actors attempting to “divide, create hate and animosity in the Australian community”, Khawaja said he only ever wanted to promote a message of peace and unity.

“I understand that I’ve talked about certain issues outside of cricket, which leaves me exposed, which a lot of people don’t like,” he said.

“I still find it hard when I say everyone deserves freedom and Palestinians deserve freedom and equal rights, why that is such a big issue.

“I am an immigrant in Australia, I came here at the age of five. It’s personal. When you start attacking my faith, my belief system, it is personal, so I am going to speak about that.”

Khawaja opened the press conference by sharing a story of seeing Michael Slater leave the SCG in his trademark red Ferrari and dreaming he too would one day be a Test cricketer.

“God, through cricket, has given me far more than I ever imagined. He’s given me memories I’ll carry forever, friendships that go well beyond the game and lessons (which) shaped who I am off the field,” Khawaja said.

“But no career belongs to one person, I obviously had a lot of help. To my parents, who are over there, thank you for your sacrifices that never made the highlight reel . . . the early mornings, the long drives, the belief when the results weren’t there.

“I hope I repaid your sacrifice in leaving everything behind in Pakistan to come to Australia to give us kids a better life.

“Rachy, my beloved wife, this journey has asked more of you than it’s ever asked of me — particularly because you read everything that goes on in the press. The missed moments, the long stretches apart, the pressures that come with this life and taking care of the kids on your own. You’ve carried our family so I can chase my dream and I’ll always be thankful for that.

“To my kids, Aisha and Ayla, you gave me perspective and reminded me of what really matters. Win or lose, everything I did out there, I hope one day, that you’ll be proud of what I achieved, but also, what I was like as a human.”