Australia Test opener winner Usman Khawaja Although most professional athletes are at an age where they may be retiring or considering retirement, cricket Starr insists he still has many years left. Khawaja will turn 38 in December but believes he can buck the trend of Australian openers ending their careers at 37, and has set lofty goals of playing into his 40s.
david warner, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden all played their last Test at the age of 37, but with Khawaja in the best form of his career, the Test openers will remain at the top level for at least a few more years. I believe I can play. Khawaja was named the ICC Test Player of the Year in 2023 and has averaged over 50 in Tests since rejoining the team in 2022.
The batsman is currently in the middle of a significant break from cricket for the first time in over 18 months as he missed the IPL and was not even selected for the T20 World Cup. Khawaja last played cricket in March during Australia's short tour of New Zealand. The wide world of sports He is enjoying cricket more than ever.
“I'm still feeling good! I'm playing every game, so I think I'll be fine!” Khawaja said. “Honestly, I still enjoy the game and feel I can still perform at the highest level.
“I just won the ICC Test Player of the Year award. I never dreamed I would win the award, especially when I was away from the Test side a couple of years ago. Since then, I have won a lot. Things happened and I'm here now.''I really enjoy playing for this cricket team at the moment and I think I can keep going for a while, but I don't know if it's for one year or two. I don't know what year it is.
“Right now I just feel like I'm working on it, but I'm not giving myself a timeline. Every day is a gift. I'm really enjoying every day playing for Australia and being a part of the process. Khawaja's goal means he will remain in the national team for the 2025/26 Ashes series, when England tour Australia, and Australia's tour of India in 2024.
David Warner's horror IPL campaign ends
Warner's Australian summer one-day career has just come to an end, with Warner taking a time-out in an international Test, and only T20 cricket is in sight as he looks to move into retirement. Warner's run numbers have slumped in recent years and he was on the verge of dropping out in the latter stages of his Test career.
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He probably exited at the right time after the Sydney Test and has shown glimpses of the destructive ball-striker who has secured an opener's place in all forms of cricket, but his best is undoubtedly behind him. be. At 37, he is the same age as Khawaja, whose international Test career appears to be at an all-time high, while Warner is fresh off a horror IPL campaign.
Due to Warner's poor form, he missed Delhi Capitals' last two games of the IPL season along with the younger players. Jake Fraser McGuirk I'm nodding at him. It was a dominant IPL season for the veteran batsman, who scored 168 runs this season, averaging just 21 runs, after finishing with scores of 18, 10, 8, 1, 1.
Given Warner's experience and popularity in India, he is likely to return to the IPL next year, but he may not get the remuneration he desires after this season. The Australian veteran is one of the stars of the T20 world and has been playing in the IPL since 2009.
The 37-year-old has scored the most IPL runs among overseas batsmen, ranks third overall behind Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, and has topped the season run charts three times. However, he is visibly declining and many are wondering why he was chosen for Australia's T20 World Cup squad rather than someone like Fraser McGuirk, 22.