Usman Khawaja has strongly defended his absence from the Sheffield Shield match and severely criticized Queensland Cricket chief Joe Dawes, calling his comments "completely untrue" and leaving him "fired up." This comes after Dawes accused the Australian national team's Test opener of missing the match against South Australia, which ultimately ended in a draw but helped Queensland qualify for the final.
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03-24, 2025Khawaja is expected to be named in the Queensland squad for the Sheffield Shield final in Adelaide next week. To that end, he held a media conference on Friday to explain the situation. He stated that he had developed a plan with the Cricket Australia (CA) medical team and selector George Bailey to manage a persistent hamstring issue, which he played through in the previous round against Tasmania.
That match coincided with Cyclone Alfred hitting Brisbane. Despite his physical discomfort, Khawaja left his family to play in the match and scored a century. He said he hadn't spoken to Dawes in over a month, while Dawes claimed Khawaja had been cleared by medical staff to play in the match against South Australia. "Joey said the medical staff knew nothing about it: that's 100 percent wrong," he said. "I've been talking to the physio from Cricket Australia."
"Everyone knew about it... it's one of the most shocking things... completely untrue. Anything I do, I always communicate with CA first. They always have the final say," Khawaja said. He stated that he had texted Queensland coach Johan Botha informing him of the initial plan, which was based on not playing back-to-back games, but never received a reply. He said that in the Tasmania game, he felt like he was "about to explode" and could only jog while batting, ultimately helping Queensland to a crucial nine-wicket victory.
However, the management plan or injury was never discussed with Botha or Queensland Cricket. Khawaja is contracted with CA, and he believed the situation was under control until speculation arose last week. The 38-year-old then attended the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, posting photos of himself at the track and doing hamstring rehabilitation on his social media accounts.
On Wednesday, as the Queensland team returned to Brisbane, Dawes claimed Khawaja could have been selected for the squad. "I was going off our medical staff saying there was no reason why he couldn't play the last game," Dawes said. "It was disappointing that he didn't make himself available for Queensland when he had the opportunity." Khawaja said he had CA's permission to attend the Grand Prix and was happy to repair his relationship with Dawes, a former Sheffield Shield-winning fast bowler for Queensland, after next week's final.
"I could have stayed home and curled up in a ball, or I could go watch the F1," Khawaja said. "I'm still looking after my body. It's not an accident that I'm still playing at 38. The photos look bad... that's why I wanted to come out and say something. Whatever happens, I still love Queensland Cricket." Khawaja aims to continue playing Test cricket until the end of next summer's home Ashes series. In the 2020/21 season, he led Queensland to their last Sheffield Shield title, with Australian teammate Marnus Labuschagne named player of the match for his brilliant 193 at Allan Border Field in a comprehensive innings and 33-run victory over New South Wales.
Labuschagne will captain Queensland in the Sheffield Shield final, and he was unconcerned when speaking earlier about Khawaja's situation. He said that the left-hander missing the game in Adelaide and being available for the final was essentially "the perfect result." "We understand that if we want him to be at his best, he needs to make sure he's ready and he's fresh so he doesn't get injured," Labuschagne said.
