Sydney: Veteran Australian opener Usman Khawaja is set to break his silence over his Test future ahead of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England in Sydney, according to The Australian. Khwaja is expected to hold a news conference ahead of the Sydney Test to make his plans clear.
The 39-year-old Khawaja has been having a dismal run in Test cricket over the last two years. The left-handed batter has averaged 25.93 and 36.11 in the past two years. In 2025, the Australian opener scored 614 runs in 18 innings, including one fifty and one hundred.
Khawaja scored his only century against Sri Lanka during Australia's January-February 2025 tour, making a huge 232 in the first innings of the opening Test. In the ongoing Ashes series, the 39-year-old Khawaja started as Australia's long-standing opener. During the second innings of the Perth Test, Khawaja didn't come out to bat after he suffered back spasms. He missed the Brisbane Test and was initially left out for Adelaide, only being recalled to bat at No. 4 because of Steven Smith's illness, who was ruled out of the Test.
During the fourth Ashes Test against England, Khawaja played in the middle order with Travis Head and Jack Weatherald. The left-handed batter made 29 off 52 balls and a two-ball duck across both innings. In the ongoing Ashes, Khawaja has made 153 runs in three matches and five innings at an average of 30.60, including one fifty, which came in Adelaide.
Recently, former England cricketer Michael Vaughan urged Khawaja to control his own destiny and enjoy the chance to end his remarkable career on his own terms at home, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. "I would say to Usman, 'Don't let them decide. You decide your destiny. When someone has been playing for so long, we've just got to let them decide. Usman has had an incredible career and not many get the chance to say goodbye on their own terms at their own venue," Vaughan said as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Vaughan said that ending his career at his home ground in an Ashes series would be ideal for the Aussie batter, but it depends on whether he still has the energy and desire to continue playing. "If he doesn't do that, he runs the risk of his career ending not on his own terms. I can't think of a better way to say goodbye than at his home ground in an Ashes series. If Uzzie has got the energy and capacity to really want to fight on, yeah, I could see that happening, but leaving in Sydney in an Ashes series sounds pretty good to me," Vaughan added.