Shane Watson questioned Usman Khawaja’s absence from Test squad

Shane Watson, a former Australia all-rounder, has questioned Usman Khawaja’s exclusion from the Test squad.

Watson made these comments while talking in the latest episode of ICC Review. He said, “Usman Khawaja has always been one of our best batters and one of the highest skilled batters in Australia and I could never believe when he wasn’t picked.

“It’s awesome what he is doing now, but for me it is actually a bit sad that we have missed an opportunity in the previous four or five years to be able to see that version of him playing for Australia. He has never lost his skills and has probably got better skills now than he ever had,” Watson further added.

In 2022, Khawaja has already scored four hundreds and concluded the last Test series against Pakistan with 496 runs from five innings at an impressive average of 165.33.

Khawaja has climbed to a career-high seventh in the latest ICC rankings as a result of his recent surge, and Watson has not been surprised by his recent good form.

But it’s made Shane Watson wonder why Khawaja was dropped from the national team in August 2019 and didn’t get a call-up until the SCG Ashes Test against England earlier this year.

“Usman Khawaja has always been one of our best batters and one of the highest skilled batters in Australia and I could never believe when he wasn’t picked,” Shane Watson said.

“It’s awesome what he is doing now, but for me it is actually a bit sad that we have missed an opportunity in the previous four or five years to be able to see that version of him playing for Australia.

“He has never lost his skills and has probably got better skills now than he ever had.”I am absolutely stoked for him and so glad he got an opportunity towards the back end of his career to prove himself…he really deserves it.”

With Khawaja and fellow opener David Warner both towards the conclusion of their careers rather than the beginning, possibilities in Australia’s top-order will open up in the coming years.

Should young gun Will Pucovski overcome his health concerns, he appears to be a lock to take one of those positions, while left-hander Marcus Harris is likely to have more chances to show himself at the highest level.

Watson, on the other hand, has pushed selectors to give Matthew Renshaw another shot in Test cricket, believing that he can succeed for Australia in five-day cricket.

Renshaw has played 11 Test matches for his country, including a century against Pakistan in 2017, but he has had a similar destiny to Khawaja in that he has been neglected by selectors for a long time.

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