5 cricketers whose biggest enemies turned out be their own cricket boards
There have been such instances when a player's biggest cricketing rival has turned out to be his cricket board. It is mostly due to a small misunderstanding or lack of trust between the player and the board.
5. Usman Khawaja
Some of you may despise the Australian team for their brash attitude and controversial tactics but, that doesn’t hide the fact that the country has a rich cricketing legacy. The Men in Yellow has always charmed the audience with their brand of cricket. Besides, they are one of the few teams who have embraced every cricketer irrespective of their origin. Its best example is Usman Khawaja, who is the first Pakistani to don the Baggy green cap.
The southpaw burst into the scene when he scored a truckload of runs in the 2010-11 Sheffield shield. Immediately he got a national call-up for the 2010-11 Ashes and made his debut in the last Test of the series. Since then, he has been an integral part of the Australian Test squad. Even in the shorter formats, he has helped the Kangaroos with his batting prowess. In all, Usman has been a find of the Australian cricket, but a closer look at his cricketing journey will tell you a different story.
In his decade long international career, he has only played 95 games. It suggests that he hasn’t been consistent enough in his trade. With that being said, the Cricket Australia (CA) should also be held responsible for his varying returns. For most of his career, the left-hander has been a scapegoat for the selectors. He is dropped from the squad whenever the team loses a high-profile series.
It seems that the board has never trusted him and, it is also evident from his recent exclusion from the ODI squad. Even after being one of the leading run-scorers in 2019, he finds himself out of the mix again. So now at 34, Khawaja’s career is at crossroads as CA let him down repeatedly.
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