'I'd probably lean towards him' - Usman Khawaja suggests his opening partner for Border Gavaskar Trophy
"With Smudge (Steve Smith) opening, we've still won games, but I don't think we've scored as many runs as we could've," Usman Khawaja said.
Australian opener Usman Khawaja feels that Travis Head could be his perfect opening partner for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, noting that Steve Smith's best performances have come from the No. 4 position in the batting order.
After David Warner retired from the longest format of the game in January, Australia promoted Smith to open with Khawaja. However, the legendary right-handed batter hasn't been able to live up to his lofty standards, having only scored 171 runs from four matches at a dismal average of 28.50. Khawaja believes that Smith should return to No. 4 in the batting order. The 35-year-old averages a staggering 61.50 from the No. 4 slot, amassing 5,966 runs from 67 Tests.
"He'll just probably never say it. So I'll say it for him. Opening is a very important spot (but) I still think we have the best Test player of my era in the side, Steve Smith, and his best spot has been number four. I feel like that's his best spot. I feel like the best balance for our team is (Marnus) Labuschagne three, Smith four. For me, the number one consideration is 'what's best for the team?'. What order scores us the most runs? And if you look at how many runs we scored with Davey Warner in the team and Smudge batting at four, we scored a lot of runs," Khawaja told Fox Sports.
"With Smudge opening, we've still won games, but I don't think we've scored as many runs as we could've. And when things are in his favour, he's almost unstoppable," the 37-year-old continued.
Travis Head might be best suited to open: Khawaja
Furthermore, Usman Khawaja pointed out that Head has fared remarkably as an opener for Australia in the white-ball formats. The Islamabad-born backed the fellow southpaw to join him at the top of the order in the marquee Test series against India.
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"At the end of the day, it's a decision for the selectors. But if you have me opening, Labuschagne three, Smith four, I feel like Travis Head might be best suited. He's obviously been very successful opening the batting in one-day cricket and, breaking it down, I'd probably lean towards him," Khawaja concluded.
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