Usman Khawaja addresses retirement plans ahead of WTC final
What's the story
Ahead of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, veteran Australian opener Usman Khawaja has addressed his retirement plans.
The 38-year-old cricketer, who leads Australia with 1,422 runs in the current WTC cycle, said he isn't worried about who will open the innings with him.
His consistent performance at the top has been key for Australia since David Warner's Test retirement in January last year.
Retirement views
'Age is irrelevant,' says Khawaja
Khawaja stressed that he will retire gracefully when the time comes, but right now, he's not thinking about it.
"To me, age is irrelevant. If I'm still enjoying my game, still training really hard, I'm still scoring runs," he told ICC Digital at Lord's.
Khawaja added that he doesn't think of anything as different but is open to whatever comes next in his cricketing journey.
Game focus
'Just enjoying my cricket at the moment'
Khawaja said he is just enjoying his cricket at the moment and is focused on one Test match at a time.
He said, "Everything that has a beginning has an end. I don't know when that end will be, but for me it's all about staying in the moment."
Despite the uncertainty surrounding his opening partner, Khawaja remains focused on his own game.
Partner dynamics
Australia have tried different opening partners for Khawaja
Team Australia has tried different opening partners for Khawaja since Warner's departure. These include Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Travis Head, and Sam Konstas.
There are also talks of promoting Marnus Labuschagne from number three to open with Khawaja in the final.
Despite this uncertainty, Khawaja isn't worried about who will open with him and is focused on his own game.
Stats
Khawaja's brilliance in WTC
Khawaja has been enjoying a dream run of form since making a return to the side in Ashes 2021-22.
The veteran opener has notched 3,165 runs from 39 WTC games at a brilliant average of 48.69.
Khawaja has slammed eight tons and 13 fifties so far as his maiden Test double-ton came earlier this year.
Only Smith (4,072) and Labuschagne (4,186) have smashed more WTC runs for the Aussies.