Mickey Arthur was very nice and helpful: Usman Khawaja

The Australian team is set to go up against Pakistan in a three-Test series and while the teams are preparing for what is expected to be a close series the fact that it is former Australian coach Mickey Arthur who is heading the Pakistan side this time has grabbed a lot of attention as well. Arthur was sacked from the Australian coach’s job after the infamous “homework gate” was reported and that it had created a fraction in the team.

Australia’s pacer Mitchell Starc ahead of the series told reporters that this team is a “lot closer” now under coach Darren Lehmann as compared to how things were when Arthur was at the helm.

Australian batsman Usman Khawaja, however, maintained that Mickey’s tenure was a long time ago. “It’s water under the bridge. It was so long ago,” Khawaja ahead of the opening Test at the Gabba said on Tuesday (December 13). “I’m not spiteful. Mickey is a very good guy. He was very nice, every time … he was very helpful. I don’t hold on.”

He agreed that it was a difficult time for the team but the homework gate didn’t have any impact on him as an individual. “It was tough at the time … it (homework-gate) didn’t really affect me too much,” he said.

Talking about playing the first Test match against Pakistan, the team that represents the nation of his birth Khawaja said, “My parents are Australian but they’re also very Pakistani. If I broke it down, the way I act and what I do is very Australian, but there’s always parts of me — when I talk to my parents I try to speak Urdu with them here and there.

“It’s not as good as them but they under what’s going on so it is a big part of my life when I’m with my parents and around my parents,” he added.