'To Me Age Is Irrelevant, I've Still Got The Hunger': Aussie Opener Khawaja On His Retirement Plans

'To me age is irrelevant, I've still got the hunger': Aussie opener Khawaja on his retirement plans (Image Source: IANS)

World Test Championship Final: Australia batter Usman Khawaja believes he is still at the top of his game and has no immediate thoughts of retiring, and he will draw curtains on his career whenever the right time comes.

Khawaja has been a mainstay at the top of Australia's batting order for the entire World Test Championship cycle, having made the most runs for the side during the current cycle with a total of 1,422 runs prior to the Lord's summit clash against South Africa.

"To me, age is irrelevant. If I'm still enjoying my game, still training really hard, I'm still scoring runs, still contributing to the team where I can, I've still got the hunger. I don't really think of anything as different, but I'm very open. I'm really just enjoying my cricket at the moment. Everything that has a beginning has an end.

"I don't know when that end will be, but for me it's all about staying in the moment, enjoying it one Test match at a time, one series at a time. And when it's time to hang up the boots, I'll gracefully do that, whatever it be," Khawaja told the ICC Digital.

The veteran opener further opened up about the uncertainty about his opening partner at the World Test Championship Final and said that the lack of clarity on who will open with him at Lord's will not affect his mindset.

"Opening is so tough... I'm worried about how the ball is going to bowl to me and what I need to do. The opposite; whoever's opening with me is thinking exactly the same. Then we're kind of in the middle working together on how we're going to blunt out this attack. It doesn't really change my game too much. If anything, the change was probably a little bit quieter without Davey. But for me, it's just about what I need to do for my team and then where I need to work with my partner while I'm out there," said Khawaja.

Australia have tried Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Travis Head and Sam Konstas alongside Khawaja since the retirement of David Warner from Test cricket at the start of last year and the reigning World Test Championship winners are even considering promoting usual No.3 Marnus Labuschagne up the order for the one-off Test against South Africa.

"Opening is so tough... I'm worried about how the ball is going to bowl to me and what I need to do. The opposite; whoever's opening with me is thinking exactly the same. Then we're kind of in the middle working together on how we're going to blunt out this attack. It doesn't really change my game too much. If anything, the change was probably a little bit quieter without Davey. But for me, it's just about what I need to do for my team and then where I need to work with my partner while I'm out there," said Khawaja.

Article Source: IANS