Ought to I keep or ought to I am going? It’s higher to burn out than to fade away? Then once more, as soon as it’s gone, it’s gone.
The inexorable challenge of retirement lurks for each skilled sportsperson. Extra naggingly, the query of when precisely is the appropriate time to step away from the top of their recreation – the identical one which has usually been performed since early childhood – is a notoriously tough one to wrangle.
Gone are the times of Wilfred Rhodes and WG Grace racking up a half ton of years at Take a look at cricket’s coalface, the golden – or ought to that be blue-rinse – period of thickly flannelled and closely moustachioed gamers creaking their arm over and utilizing their bat as a strolling body into their late 40s and 50s has lengthy since disappeared.
Like dentures in a glass, the query usually begins to rattle round a Take a look at cricketer’s thoughts as soon as they get the unsuitable facet of 30, particularly so if they’re going by a poor run of type and/or there’s a younger whippersnapper yapping at their orthopaedic heels.
Which leads us, albeit as shortly as a pensioner up a cobbled hill, to Usman Khawaja. The R-word actually gave the impression to be on the 38-year-old’s thoughts after a bruising Border-Gavaskar collection and earlier than final week’s first Take a look at towards Sri Lanka in Galle. It appeared as if the journeyman opening batter, who sits on the cusp of 80 Take a look at matches in additional than a decade, was hinting his time may very well be nearing. He additionally steered that he’d made his peace with the actual fact.
“I do know there may be a proper time to slide out,” he stated. “If I’m nonetheless enjoying and the selectors are like, ‘We really feel just like the time has come,’ it’s, ‘You let me know and I can slide out.’”
The context right here is that it was a chastening summer time for Khawaja. Sure, he confirmed his personal model of nuggety nous at occasions however finally returned a mean of simply 20.44 runs throughout the 5 Assessments and was pocketed six occasions for simply 5.50 by a rampant Jasprit Bumrah.
Now, there’s no actual disgrace in that, clearly. Bumrah put in a player-of-the collection efficiency regardless of ending up on the dropping facet, scorching 32 Australian wickets at an impressively measly common of 13.06.
By no means one to shrink back from a thorny challenge, Khawaja mirrored after Australia’s 3-1 collection victory that he was, “simply getting Bumrah-ed”, that it was “friggin’ robust work” and that this Bumrah was a distinct quick bowling beast to the one who had did not come up with his scalp within the seven Take a look at innings after they had met earlier than to the beginning of the 2024-25 collection.
The feedback had been pure Khawaja. He has at all times spoken his thoughts and by no means shied away from trustworthy or awkward conversations. As I kind this he’s spoken out about one other challenge that’s near his coronary heart in his customary unflinching method.
Throughout the dozen or so years of his Take a look at tenure he’s been out and in of the facet a handful of occasions. He’s suffered vital losses of type, reminiscent of his early output towards spin on the subcontinent – and ridden some ridiculous crests – see his comeback twin Ashes centuries on the SCG in January 2022. That was adopted by a spin-demon vanquishing and emotional journey to Pakistan, the nation of his delivery.
Khawaja then embraced the position of top-order tortoise to England’s hare-um scarum, as he topped the run charts for each side and proved a major thorn in Bazball’s paw in the course of the 2023 Ashes.
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He has had his fare share of grapples with group administration, from the “homeworkgate” saga on the 2013 tour of India to publicised points with health. The participant and man he’s now’s way more confident and self-knowing on account of his journey by Take a look at cricket, heightened nonetheless as the primary Muslim to play for Australia.
Khawaja looks as if a person at peace with who he’s, what he stands for and what the sport means for him. He loves it, certain, however it isn’t the be-all and end-all. His Wisden 2024 participant of the yr profile makes point out of his “aptitude for research”, his time at college, his love of music and basketball, oh and he’s a certified pilot. His spouse, Rachel, and two younger kids have given him additional grounding and a capability to see the sport for what it’s.
“I’m not simply enjoying cricket as a result of I’ve obtained a gluttony to attain plenty of runs – century quantity 16, 17, 18 will not be going to make a distinction to my life. I’m going to complete this recreation and I’ve obtained a gorgeous household.”
He stated all that earlier than making the exceptional double century in Galle final week. The primary of his Take a look at profession. The innings re-solidified his place within the Australian Take a look at facet with only one extra Take a look at towards Sri Lanka and the small matter of the WTC ultimate at Lord’s towards South Africa earlier than the primary Ashes Take a look at at Perth in November.
Possibly it’ll be an ideal end on the SCG in spite of everything? Possibly not. Both method Usman Khawaja will take all of it in his stride, as he at all times has. One of many fashionable recreation’s most singular characters isn’t fairly performed but, for that we ought to be glad.
