Usman Khawaja Accuses Cricket Australia of 'Subconscious' Biased Selections and Racial Discrimination
His claims involve him regularly stopped for getting his credentials checked by the security, despite him being in Australian kit while travelling with the Australian team.
One of the few cricketers who has kept the Test cricket arena lit with performances is Australian batter Usman Khawaja. After his return in the Australian Test match side, Khawaja has delivered consistent performances. He had a stellar 2022, finishing the year third in the list of highest run getters in the calendar year with 1080 runs at an average of 67.50, finishing just behind Babar Azam and Joe Root. He has started the new year with a brilliant 195 against South Africa at Sydney and showing glimpses of continuing his form in the upcoming tour of India. Ahead of that, in a recent interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Khawaja talked about racial discrimination and his experience about it in Australian cricket. Usman Khawaja Becomes First Cricketer To Miss A Maiden Test Double Century While Batting in 190s Due To Innings Declaration.
Usman Khwaja, being the only South-Asian born player to represent Australia in Tests, expressed his doubts about Cricket Australia being biased in their selections. When asked about where the root of the problem might be, Khawaja responded by saying, âThereâs subconscious bias. If you have two cricketers, one brown, one white, both the same, the white coach is going to pick the white cricketer just because he has a son that might look similar to him. Itâs whatâs familiar to him. " In the interview, Khawaja revealed how he did not support the Australian side growing up until he was about 14-15 years. "Thatâs where Iâm trying to work with Cricket Australia saying, look guys, you invest a lot of money into this, but somethingâs not going right. Youâve been doing it for 10 years and nothingâs changed,â he added.
Usman Khawaja, who is originally born in Pakistan, moved to Australia in a very young age and since his debut in 2011, played 56 tests, 40 ODIs and 9 T20Is in his international career. Despite that, he claimed that he was stopped regularly by security for getting his credentials checked, while travelling with the Australian cricket team in Australia kits in the middle of a series. Pat Cummins Believes Everyone Can Hold Their Head High After AUS vs SA 3rd Test At Sydney Ends in A Draw.
According to the The Sydney Morning Herald report, in one episode of the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series The Test, which is released today on January 13, Khawaja is seen visiting a Muslim school in Brisbane, sharing his experiences of racism and helping to inspire students to give cricket a go.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 13, 2023 04:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).