'The game’s changed' - Usman Khawaja fires shots at former greats

The traditional cricket fans and even the experts cannot fathom the change in batting techniques and trends. For them, the unconventional approach to batting might be effective but isn’t really something that they want to appreciate. The debate instigated in the commentary box on Wednesday during the 1st T20I encounter between Australia and India at Brisbane when former Test players Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds patronized the present Australian side’s style of play and Usman Khawaja couldn’t hold himself back. 

The two former cricketers said that the days of ‘classic cricket’ are over and were critical of the unorthodox shots devised by batsmen to score runs irrespective of the ball and the field placement. Australia’s Test opener Khawaja who was on the panel as the third member defended it and said that batsmen need to adapt since the bowlers are getting smarter by the day.

The cricketer who is out with an injury at the moment also said that these shots may not connect every time but, when it does, it adds to the entertainment quotient of T20 cricket.

Khawaja believes batsmen need to improvise more

The 31-year-old said, “We do play different shots now. The bowlers are getting better. As batsmen, we need to adapt a bit. A lot of old traditionalists don’t like the reverse sweeps, the paddles, but sometimes, they’re little risks you have to take to bring in those classic cricket shots. Sometimes it does look ugly when it doesn’t come but when it does everybody loves it and that’s the entertainment of T20 cricket,” as quoted by news.com.au.

He also clarified by saying what he said doesn’t mean disrespect to players from the previous era who were great but with time, the game evolves and those who are not active right now might just have a disconnect.

He further said “There’s no disrespect to guys of your era who were excellent players. You can only go on what you play but the game’s evolving and unless you’re playing it and a part of it you do feel like sometimes there is a disconnect between what the players are trying to achieve and what the outside world, especially the traditionalists and the former players are seeing,” Khawaja stated.

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