Usman Khawaja finally looks set to bat after 7 months

One of the top run-scorers in Australian cricket – Usman Khawaja has been cooling off his heels for about 7 months now, well over 200 days. The opener last played against Pakistan at the SCG and has been off the radar since then. The 30-year batsman looks set and insists that he has got nothing to prove.

I was made the scapegoat: Khawaja

Khawaja was on the firing lines when he said that he felt like a ‘scapegoat’, when he got dropped from the side after just 2 Test matches. Frustration was at a full throttle when he turned out to be the official 12th man during Australia’s tour of India and then in the IPL, in the Rising Pune Supergiants squad; under the captaincy of Steven Smith.

He also felt that the press conference, where he had to address the media regarding the Australian A tour getting canceled due to the pay dispute, was challenging. He felt that as a captain, he had a job to do and that is why he had to be the voice, not that he liked being at the centre of it.

Frustrating times in India

“I’m not going to make it all about me and I never like playing cricket that way. (Proving myself) is the furthest thing from my mind,” Khawaja told The Sunday Telegraph.

“It should feel like a long time (between matches), but it actually doesn’t. I don’t know why. “It can be pretty tough (mentally). I’m glad it’s happened now and didn’t happen about eight years ago. It was frustrating at the end of India because I was there for so long. But by the time I came home it was just nice to be home, sleeping in my own bed and training back in Brisbane.” he added. If the weather stays clear then Khawaja may be seen coming at No. 3 for the visitors, and from then there might well be a new dawn.