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Usman Khawaja's retirement speech; cricket farewell or commentary on racism?

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Major

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Usman Khawaja's retirement speech was way more about race than his own playing career. It gave Ross Taylor vibes, who NZC took very serious, and after investigation never found any racism.

It is no secret that Cricket Australia accommodated him by not forcing him to wear those alcohol sponsorships, often captains not making him isolated when he wasnt part of the champagne celebrations.

Yet, Khawaja went on a rant.

Do you think his speech focused on racism more, and was it justified?
 
I think racism has been a part of his career. Nothing wrong with opening up about how he was discriminated against and treated by some mentally ill people despite his achievements. It was nothing out of the box. He did not narrate his family tales. It was something directly linked to his career.
 
Too much whining I felt.

He got the privilege of playing for Australia for the better part of 15 years.
 
He was overly combative but obviously felt it was the best opportunity to get things off his chest.

He has suffered racial abuse well documented through the years and his family have been abused at the ground too.

He should have given thanks for his opportunities too and the people who honoured him and respected his beliefs along the way.

I am not trying to be unkind here not criticise Usman but I have found brown people who marry outside their race ( particularly with white people)!usually are a bit unstable when it comes to identity and race.
 
Savak said:
It wasn't a privilege, he toiled and worked hard to earn it.
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Everyone has to do that to get a spot in A ustralia. He had two good seasons 7 matches each. He was in the side.So he didn't have to wait. Many guys like Cosgrove.Martin love didn't get a long run.
 
It's always hilarious to see desis who have spent their entire life being the majority in their respective countries show zero empathy for their own people who have to work harder than they ever did in their own countries. It's just about the most obvious and predictable thing imaginable.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Everyone has to do that to get a spot in A ustralia. He had two good seasons 7 matches each. He was in the side.So he didn't have to wait. Many guys like Cosgrove.Martin love didn't get a long run.
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Well you're not him, so you don't know where he is coming from and what barriers he faced from a young age. Name one non-white player who has more Test caps for Australia than Khawaja.

If it was so easy playing Test cricket and representing Australia in 88 Tests than more than 19 players would have been able to do it in Australia's centuries long history as a Test nation.
 
It's his platform therefore it is up to him to speak his mind.

He has had a good career for Australia and he has more than earned the right to say what he wants to say.

If people bothered to listen to what he said, he is very clearly coming from the mindset of, I don't want the next colored player for Australia to face the discrimination he faced. And that's an admirable view-point to have. I feel because our people themselves are some of the most racist people on the planet, to the extent that racism and colorism is ingrained in our culture, that alot of people think he is "whining".

Maybe when you play 88 Tests for your country you can decide whether you want to 'whine' or thank your club cricket coach in your farewell speech..
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
It's his platform therefore it is up to him to speak his mind.

He has had a good career for Australia and he has more than earned the right to say what he wants to say.

If people bothered to listen to what he said, he is very clearly coming from the mindset of, I don't want the next colored player for Australia to face the discrimination he faced. And that's an admirable view-point to have. I feel because our people themselves are some of the most racist people on the planet, to the extent that racism and colorism is ingrained in our culture, that alot of people think he is "whining".

Maybe when you play 88 Tests for your country you can decide whether you want to 'whine' or thank your club cricket coach in your farewell speech..
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fair point, but than what about the Ross Taylor fiasco, if you know about that or get a chance to read about it, do you think cricketers should talk about such stuff without any proof?
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Everyone has to do that to get a spot in A ustralia. He had two good seasons 7 matches each. He was in the side.So he didn't have to wait. Many guys like Cosgrove.Martin love didn't get a long run.
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Cosgrove was fat.

Anyways, Indian opinions dont matter for many of us as we know you guys will give biased opinions knowing your hate for muslims and pakistanis.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
It's always hilarious to see desis who have spent their entire life being the majority in their respective countries show zero empathy for their own people who have to work harder than they ever did in their own countries. It's just about the most obvious and predictable thing imaginable.
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what has this got to do with the thread?

Many Australian people are critisizing Khawaja for making his retirement speech about race. What has this got to do with desis living back home when the whites of Australia are bashing Khawaja?
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Well you're not him, so you don't know where he is coming from and what barriers he faced from a young age. Name one non-white player who has more Test caps for Australia than Khawaja.

If it was so easy playing Test cricket and representing Australia in 88 Tests than more than 19 players would have been able to do it in Australia's centuries long history as a Test nation.
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I am just saying others didn't exactly get through backdoor. He was not the highest run getter in either of those seasons. Half a dozen batsmen had better stats than him. Still he got preferred. If anything internal politics is way too high in India where people from small villages have to work 10 times harder to get into the side.
 
Major said:
Cosgrove was fat.

Anyways, Indian opinions dont matter for many of us as we know you guys will give biased opinions knowing your hate for muslims and pakistanis.
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Yea.. He is an Australian. Last i know we love Mohammad Shami, Siraj . So you are wrong on both counts. danish kaneria have a different take though. He said he faced significant discrimination in the dressing room.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Yea.. He is an Australian. Last i know we love Mohammad Shami, Siraj . So you are wrong on both counts. danish kaneria have a different take though. He said he faced significant discrimination in the dressing room.
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Why don't you talk about everything else that is happening in your country? Hardly a shining beacon now is it? @Devadwal @Bhaag Viru Bhaag can elaborate more for their countries.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
He was overly combative but obviously felt it was the best opportunity to get things off his chest.

He has suffered racial abuse well documented through the years and his family have been abused at the ground too.

He should have given thanks for his opportunities too and the people who honoured him and respected his beliefs along the way.

I am not trying to be unkind here not criticise Usman but I have found brown people who marry outside their race ( particularly with white people)!usually are a bit unstable when it comes to identity and race.
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I like the identity crises part you mentioned, and i feel that this race issue becomes a problem for those cricketers that are more focusses on what their identity is or are not very secure about themselves.

Two of the most secure foreign cricketers i saw were Amla and Moeen Ali

Look at Amla, i am sure he and his family must have felt hate due to the way he lives his life and wife aswell. But Amla had a very dignified career and didnt talk about racism during his retirement speech.

Moeen Ali aswell. Not an England great, and racism is high in England, but still he knows where to talk about race and where not to.

Khawaja has had this identity crises during the last few years, dont know why. Cricketers are no one to decide what sponsor they will wear, its the board that makes these deals, and Muslim cricketers are often jeopardizing these deals. Still boards like CA have accomodated cricketers like Khawaja and yet they complain at retirement.
 
Major said:
what has this got to do with the thread?

Many Australian people are critisizing Khawaja for making his retirement speech about race. What has this got to do with desis living back home when the whites of Australia are bashing Khawaja?
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I think until a person has experienced being a minority then it is difficult to relate to the experience of one. It can be a cold and lonely place.

It is very very hard to get through sometimes. And a person can very easily develop the habit of second guessing themselves.

Desis who are in majority back home or white Aussies won't get it because they haven't had those feelings or experiences.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Yea.. He is an Australian. Last i know we love Mohammad Shami, Siraj . So you are wrong on both counts. danish kaneria have a different take though. He said he faced significant discrimination in the dressing room.
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Cosgrove was fat. Dont know what you are on about.

Last i know, most of u indians are racist that hate muslims or pakistanis, we have seen your lots posts here. I dont want Indians to make posts in this thread, as its going to be garbage as usual
 
Major said:
Cosgrove was fat. Dont know what you are on about.

Last i know, most of u indians are racist that hate muslims or pakistanis, we have seen your lots posts here. I dont want Indians to make posts in this thread, as its going to be garbage as usual
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oh wait. Australia has never played fat guys? You are deliberately taking the topic in different direction as you don't have cricketing logic to defend yourself. Not surprising.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
I think until a person has experienced being a minority then it is difficult to relate to the experience of one. It can be a cold and lonely place.

It is very very hard to get through sometimes. And a person can very easily develop the habit of second guessing themselves.

Desis who are in majority back home or white Aussies won't get it because they haven't had those feelings or experiences.
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Bro it is what it is.

You can always have the comparison of back home than. Someone made a very interesting post on social media that make the comparison with the country of your roots. Think about how the minorities are being treated back home.

Khawaja being Pakistani, someone said that is Pakistan giving equal oppurtunities to minorities in Pakistan than?

As far as i know, Australians look at the best performers and not cater to race. While Khawaja kept on going about equal representation during his career.

One of the most flawed concept of equal representation on paper is the qouta system of SA and even that is critisized.

Its the best man for the job.
 
Major said:
I like the identity crises part you mentioned, and i feel that this race issue becomes a problem for those cricketers that are more focusses on what their identity is or are not very secure about themselves.

Two of the most secure foreign cricketers i saw were Amla and Moeen Ali

Look at Amla, i am sure he and his family must have felt hate due to the way he lives his life and wife aswell. But Amla had a very dignified career and didnt talk about racism during his retirement speech.

Moeen Ali aswell. Not an England great, and racism is high in England, but still he knows where to talk about race and where not to.

Khawaja has had this identity crises during the last few years, dont know why. Cricketers are no one to decide what sponsor they will wear, its the board that makes these deals, and Muslim cricketers are often jeopardizing these deals. Still boards like CA have accomodated cricketers like Khawaja and yet they complain at retirement.
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Religion can play a part and culture too . Moeen Ali and Amla are comfortable as Muslims.

Khawja complaints are legitimate, perhaps he could have dealt with it differently but it is specific to him.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
oh wait. Australia has never played fat guys? You are deliberately taking the topic in different direction as you don't have cricketing logic to defend yourself. Not surprising.
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You are making retarded posts. You went on to give a random name why Cosgrove didnt get to play and Khawaj should be lucky when its a fact that Cosgrove was fat and thats why he didnt get a chance.

Indians that bark like dogs against muslims and pakistanis just to defend their dog of pm shoulnt give lectures on cricketing logic when your logic is based on saffron colors
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Chris Rogers. PHil jacques, Hughes.. many batsmen did well around the time Khawaja made debut.
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Chris Rogers had eyesight problem, which is why they couldnt play him.

Do i need to tell you Hughes passed away?

Phil jacques? DO i need to remind you he is 46 years old?

The desperation and idiotic posts of Indians is always a sight when they have to bash a muslim.
 
Major said:
Bro it is what it is.

You can always have the comparison of back home than. Someone made a very interesting post on social media that make the comparison with the country of your roots. Think about how the minorities are being treated back home.

Khawaja being Pakistani, someone said that is Pakistan giving equal oppurtunities to minorities in Pakistan than?

As far as i know, Australians look at the best performers and not cater to race. While Khawaja kept on going about equal representation during his career.

One of the most flawed concept of equal representation on paper is the qouta system of SA and even that is critisized.

Its the best man for the job.
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As I got older I realise Kaneria was probably discriminated against. Even unknowingly.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Religion can play a part and culture too . Moeen Ali and Amla are comfortable as Muslims.

Khawja complaints are legitimate, perhaps he could have dealt with it differently but it is specific to him.
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Ross Taylor did something similar when he retired, i think it was in his book.

Cricket New Zealand took his complains very serious, started an investigation on it and even asked Taylor to assisst, Taylor not only ran away, he than changed his stance. It made Taylor lose alot of credibility.

If CA decides that ok lets investigate these claims and they turn out to be false, it will make Khawaja look like an idiot and his career would be defined by what he said at his retirement.
 
Major said:
You are making retarded posts. You went on to give a random name why Cosgrove didnt get to play and Khawaj should be lucky when its a fact that Cosgrove was fat and thats why he didnt get a chance.

Indians that bark like dogs against muslims and pakistanis just to defend their dog of pm shoulnt give lectures on cricketing logic when your logic is based on saffron colors
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Stop claiming Khawaja as your own. Ya a Pakistani averaging 156 in pakistan against pakistan, and averaging 75 against pakistan. Nice logic there. He is not yours. He beat the crap out of pakistan at every opportunity.
 
I am missing @Mamoon in these threads. His posts in Azeem Rafiq thread were legendary. I am talking about pre heel turn version of Mamoon that is.
 
Major said:
Cosgrove was fat. Dont know what you are on about.

Last i know, most of u indians are racist that hate muslims or pakistanis, we have seen your lots posts here. I dont want Indians to make posts in this thread, as its going to be garbage as usual
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Calling an entire nationality racist while demanding they stay silent is textbook prejudice and ironic, but then you are too dense to think it through.


And as Mark Twain famously said: “Never wrestle with pigs — you both get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.” - you Major are a daily reminder of that....
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Stop claiming Khawaja as your own. Ya a Pakistani averaging 156 in pakistan against pakistan, and averaging 75 against pakistan. Nice logic there. He is not yours. He beat the crap out of pakistan at every opportunity.
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You have completely lost it. Read the thread title and maybe just shut it and get out of here
 
nish_mate said:
Calling an entire nationality racist while demanding they stay silent is textbook prejudice and ironic, but then you are too dense to think it through.


And as Mark Twain famously said: “Never wrestle with pigs — you both get dirty, and the pig enjoys it.” - you Major are a daily reminder of that....
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another jahil bread of indian pops up
 
Major said:
You have completely lost it. Read the thread title and maybe just shut it and get out of here
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Your fall back sentence is coming up with a reply that makes zero sense. You accused Indians of hating Pakistanis, muslims. I gave you the explanation for that. But now you want me to focus on topic? lol
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Your fall back sentence is coming up with a reply that makes zero sense. You accused Indians of hating Pakistanis, muslims. I gave you the explanation for that. But now you want me to focus on topic? lol
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Khawaja is a muslim and is a Pakistani aswell, so u indians hating him and not being able to be objective is expected. Which is why, you lot are not needed as you lot dont add value by being bias.
 
Major said:
Khawaja is a muslim and is a Pakistani aswell, so u indians hating him and not being able to be objective is expected. Which is why, you lot are not needed as you lot dont add value by being bias.
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More like you are being biased rather than objective not the other way around. This is pretty much what Aussies also said about Khawaja not just Indians. All i say is he didn't have to be negative at the time of retirement. He could bring it up later. But Aussies are way more harsh against his comments. You are just being biased as he thinks he is one of your own because he is a pakistani because he is a muslim.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
More like you are being biased rather than objective not the other way around. This is pretty much what Aussies also said about Khawaja not just Indians. All i say is he didn't have to be negative at the time of retirement. He could bring it up later. But Aussies are way more harsh against his comments. You are just being biased as he thinks he is one of your own because he is a pakistani because he is a muslim.
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no, you went on a rant about cosgrove, phil jacques, hughes, chris rogers and had to be educated about each cricketer.

You are not here to discuss the australian pov or be objective. You saw a thread title of a Pakistani/Muslim and had to go against it cause you are an Indian who hates Pakistanis/Muslims.
 
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Major said:
no, you went on a rant about cosgrove, phil jacques, hughes, crhis rogers and had to be educated about each cricketer.

You are not here to discuss the australian pov or be objective. You saw a thread title of a Pakistani/Muslim and had to go against it cause you are an Indian who hates Pakistanis/Muslims.
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It was not rant. He had his opportunities. He was not sidelined. May be you love to listen to australian right winger.

 
jnaveen1980 said:
It was not rant. He had his opportunities. He was not sidelined. May be you love to listen to australian right winger.

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it was a rant which is why i educated you on each of those cricketers, and now you are trying to go back from what you posted.
 
Major said:
it was a rant which is why i educated you on each of those cricketers, and now you are trying to go back from what you posted.
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You didn't educate anything. You were jumping all over labelling, stereotyping people.Atleast do some research before replying. Many Indians supported his stance too. Just give it up dude. You cannot engage in meaningful conversation. Just stick to creating weird threads.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
You didn't educate anything. You were jumping all over labelling, stereotyping people.Atleast do some research before replying. Many Indians supported his stance too. Just give it up dude. You cannot engage in meaningful conversation. Just stick to creating weird threads.
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I taught you a lesson, now you can be ignorant i dont care. You try to come up with an excuse and list 3-4 random cricketers who you had no idea about. After being educated about those guys you are just hoping around.

Like you have to be one sad retarded Indian to say that Philip Hughes should had played ahead of Khawaja, not knowing that Hughes passed away :facepalm
 
Major said:
what has this got to do with the thread?

Many Australian people are critisizing Khawaja for making his retirement speech about race. What has this got to do with desis living back home when the whites of Australia are bashing Khawaja?
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It was in reply to some of the responses on this thread
 
Apart from other things there is a cultural aspect here

Australians are very blunt & in-ur-face. They can be very brutal if ur performance is not good. Desis are a bit emotional by nature - they need to be pampered & dealt more diplomatically

I feel Khwaja took the harsh criticism during his bad days at bit too personally & started thinking its due to race & religion. Bit like how Ganguly took Greg Chappel's blunt criticism too personally & that led to royal dressing room mess

A more mature & confident guy wud have probably shrugged it off & moved on. Khwaja does come across a bit soft & took lot of offence. All that came out like a volcano as a parting shot
 
Major said:
fair point, but than what about the Ross Taylor fiasco, if you know about that or get a chance to read about it, do you think cricketers should talk about such stuff without any proof?
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To borrow your own phrase, what does one thing have to do with the other? Both are different players who had their own unique experiences... why does whatever Taylor said discredit what Khawaja said?
 
NishanKonar said:
Apart from other things there is a cultural aspect here

Australians are very blunt & in-ur-face. They can be very brutal if ur performance is not good. Desis are a bit emotional by nature - they need to be pampered & dealt more diplomatically

I feel Khwaja took the harsh criticism during his bad days at bit too personally & started thinking its due to race & religion. Bit like how Ganguly took Greg Chappel's blunt criticism too personally & that led to royal dressing room mess

A more mature & confident guy wud have probably shrugged it off & moved on. Khwaja does come across a bit soft & took lot of offence. All that came out like a volcano as a parting shot
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Khawaja should not have played this long. They carried him far too long. Should have been let go after 2024 season. But since there not many options they had to carry him. 2024, 2025 both flop seasons. Also age is not on his side. 2015/2022/2023 were decent statistically.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
I am just saying others didn't exactly get through backdoor. He was not the highest run getter in either of those seasons. Half a dozen batsmen had better stats than him. Still he got preferred. If anything internal politics is way too high in India where people from small villages have to work 10 times harder to get into the side.
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You don’t actually know what he faced, because you’re not him. Racism and bias don’t start at the first-class level, they exist from junior, grade, and club cricket, where opportunities, backing, and patience are already skewed. In a system historically dominated by white players and selectors, it's not that difficult to imagine that someone like Khawaja faced higher barriers than his white peers. It's the same way in alot of white-dominant societies, not just Australia.

If he says he experienced this, who are we to dismiss it? I don't see what gives anyone the right to dismiss/downplay someone’s lived experience, when we are not the ones who experienced it.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
To borrow your own phrase, what does one thing have to do with the other? Both are different players who had their own unique experiences... why does whatever Taylor said discredit what Khawaja said?
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Because taylor made similar statements i think in his book.

Cricket nz actually decided to investigate the racism taking place and even asked ross to help them in this case. But Ross backed out and changed his stance from racism to something that the people not being cultural sensitive or something of that sort.

He lost alot of credibility after that.

Now if CA decides to investigate and nothing comes up, Khawaja might also lose creadibility as Ross did and Khawajas career would be remembered based on his speech
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
You don’t actually know what he faced, because you’re not him. Racism and bias don’t start at the first-class level, they exist from junior, grade, and club cricket, where opportunities, backing, and patience are already skewed. In a system historically dominated by white players and selectors, it's not that difficult to imagine that someone like Khawaja faced higher barriers than his white peers. It's the same way in alot of white-dominant societies, not just Australia.

If he says he experienced this, who are we to dismiss it? I don't see what gives anyone the right to dismiss/downplay someone’s lived experience, when we are not the ones who experienced it.
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You are arguing with an Indian who said that Philip Hughes should had played ahead of Khawaja, not knowing Hughes passed away...
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
You don’t actually know what he faced, because you’re not him. Racism and bias don’t start at the first-class level, they exist from junior, grade, and club cricket, where opportunities, backing, and patience are already skewed. In a system historically dominated by white players and selectors, it's not that difficult to imagine that someone like Khawaja faced higher barriers than his white peers. It's the same way in alot of white-dominant societies, not just Australia.

If he says he experienced this, who are we to dismiss it? I don't see what gives anyone the right to dismiss/downplay someone’s lived experience, when we are not the ones who experienced it.
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Dude. I don't say he shouldn't talk. Here i san Indian origina AUstralian journalist Bharat Sundaresan talking about this very same issue.

 
jnaveen1980 said:
Khawaja should not have played this long. They carried him far too long. Should have been let go after 2024 season. But since there not many options they had to carry him. 2024, 2025 both flop seasons. Also age is not on his side. 2015/2022/2023 were decent statistically.
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If it was so easy to replace Khawaja they would have replaced him. And this right here is a classic case of you downplaying his achievements as a player. From 2022-23, Khawaja scored 2290 runs at an average of 58.7 with 7 centuries. How many other players scored as many runs during that time period at this kind of average? I'd say that's a bit better than "decent"

He has also scored 1600+ in Asia at an average of 61.8 with 5 centuries. That's the fifth highest number of runs for Australia in Asia. Nobody is saying that he is one of the greatest players to ever play for Australia but you are making it seem like he was lucky to have this career, which is not the case at all. When you play well and make a name for yourself you naturally earn goodwill with the selectors. I can think for a couple of players who were passengers in their team for years before their board finally decided to cut them loose.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
If it was so easy to replace Khawaja they would have replaced him. And this right here is a classic case of you downplaying his achievements as a player. From 2022-23, Khawaja scored 2290 runs at an average of 58.7 with 7 centuries. How many other players scored as many runs during that time period at this kind of average? I'd say that's a bit better than "decent"

He has also scored 1600+ in Asia at an average of 61.8 with 5 centuries. That's the fifth highest number of runs for Australia in Asia. Nobody is saying that he is one of the greatest players to ever play for Australia but you are making it seem like he was lucky to have this career, which is not the case at all. When you play well and make a name for yourself you naturally earn goodwill with the selectors. I can think for a couple of players who were passengers in their team for years before their board finally decided to cut them loose.
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He looked so out of depth last 2 years. Many times talk about replacing him surfaced. Here in forums as well people did echo the same thoughts. It is not just the runs. It is the way he looked against good bowling. He was batting like a noob most of the time. They tried a few. They were all too raw. Konstas, Mcsweeney. They tried Smith as opener. As long as warner was there things were smooth. Once he left chaos started.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
He looked so out of depth last 2 years. Many times talk about replacing him surfaced. Here in forums as well people did echo the same thoughts. It is not just the runs. It is the way he looked against good bowling. He was batting like a noob most of the time. They tried a few. They were all too raw. Konstas, Mcsweeney. They tried Smith as opener. As long as warner was there things were smooth. Once he left chaos started.
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In this sport, your biggest currency is runs. And fact is, Khawaja scored runs... even when he looked out of depth. The others did not. Considering the years Khawaja had in 2022 and 2023, it was quite natural for the selectors to give him that 'blank cheque' year. And even in 2024, the brunt of his misfortune lied in running into Bumrah, who just got him out every time. All things considered, he retired gracefully and didn't overstay his welcome. You could make a case that he overstayed his welcome if there was a viable replacement lined up, but that was not the case. Weatherald hasn't exactly set the world on fire, and neither have the others who have opened for Australia since Warner retired. Even in this series Khawaja has looked better than Green and Inglis, who are supposed to be two names for the future.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
In this sport, your biggest currency is runs. And fact is, Khawaja scored runs... even when he looked out of depth. The others did not. Considering the years Khawaja had in 2022 and 2023, it was quite natural for the selectors to give him that 'blank cheque' year. And even in 2024, the brunt of his misfortune lied in running into Bumrah, who just got him out every time. All things considered, he retired gracefully and didn't overstay his welcome. You could make a case that he overstayed his welcome if there was a viable replacement lined up, but that was not the case. Weatherald hasn't exactly set the world on fire, and neither have the others who have opened for Australia since Warner retired. Even in this series Khawaja has looked better than Green and Inglis, who are supposed to be two names for the future.
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It is natural people will look at your age. Older people will have less leverage. He has that one big innings of 232 in the last 2 years. In the other 32 innings he averaged 24. It is not him. Even Labu's position was questioned by many Aussies along with Khawaja's . If anything Labu faced more scrutiny. It is only after he played sheffield shield cricket and did well they picked him. Labu is equally worse in the last 2 years. Bench strenght is poor. Even head averages only 40 in the last 2 years inspite of a box office series he is having now. But him being 37 , 38 will always make your chances slimmer.
 
We should bear in mind that there was an article in Indian media claiming Khawajas statements made him a jihadi.

These guys come with copy paste arguments whenever any Muslim is facing an issue anywhere in the world.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
You don’t actually know what he faced, because you’re not him. Racism and bias don’t start at the first-class level, they exist from junior, grade, and club cricket, where opportunities, backing, and patience are already skewed. In a system historically dominated by white players and selectors, it's not that difficult to imagine that someone like Khawaja faced higher barriers than his white peers. It's the same way in alot of white-dominant societies, not just Australia.

If he says he experienced this, who are we to dismiss it? I don't see what gives anyone the right to dismiss/downplay someone’s lived experience, when we are not the ones who experienced it.
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Wearing a logo on shoes to support the terror organisation ( Hamas) is what you called? He is not Saint as you're portraying him.

Yes he may face the racism at lower level as most of the desi people's faced in western nation's.

But he should be thankful for Australia cricket to represent them. Its a previlage .

He is nothing extraordinary batsman but just a decent batsman that's too in test cricket Only. He is grabage in limited over cricket.

:klopp :kp
 
jnaveen1980 said:
It is natural people will look at your age. Older people will have less leverage. He has that one big innings of 232 in the last 2 years. In the other 32 innings he averaged 24. It is not him. Even Labu's position was questioned by many Aussies along with Khawaja's . If anything Labu faced more scrutiny. It is only after he played sheffield shield cricket and did well they picked him. Labu is equally worse in the last 2 years. Bench strenght is poor. Even head averages only 40 in the last 2 years inspite of a box office series he is having now. But him being 37 , 38 will always make your chances slimmer.
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I mean you're kinda proving my point. When practically no one in your team in performing, the natural instinct of the selectors is to bank on proven performers and hope they regain form, rather than hoping that someone new being thrown into the mix will be the solution.

I don't think the Australian selectors care as much about age. Their Test bowling attack is a living example of that. Infact I don't think that most selectors in the world care about age, except for maybe Indian selectors... but that is more due to the massive talent pool and sheer number of individuals fighting for a chance to play for India. Infact, older players oftentimes have more leverage with board/selectors, especially in sub-continental countries, which is evident by the number of players from this region that have overstayed their welcome.

I think Khawaja knew he was at the end of the line, which is why he retired. The timing couldn't be better because it's the last Test of the series and it's on his home ground. On top of which, the non-performance of other players has allowed him a spot in the middle-order.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I mean you're kinda proving my point. When practically no one in your team in performing, the natural instinct of the selectors is to bank on proven performers and hope they regain form, rather than hoping that someone new being thrown into the mix will be the solution.

I don't think the Australian selectors care as much about age. Their Test bowling attack is a living example of that. Infact I don't think that most selectors in the world care about age, except for maybe Indian selectors... but that is more due to the massive talent pool and sheer number of individuals fighting for a chance to play for India. Infact, older players oftentimes have more leverage with board/selectors, especially in sub-continental countries, which is evident by the number of players from this region that have overstayed their welcome.

I think Khawaja knew he was at the end of the line, which is why he retired. The timing couldn't be better because it's the last Test of the series and it's on his home ground. On top of which, the non-performance of other players has allowed him a spot in the middle-order.
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Yea.. they didn't care about his views on world issues as well. THey just gave him run based on his performances and past performance and availability of bench. They always backed him. That is why they originally dropped him and brought him back again based on sheffield shield performance. He looked totally done in the last few series i watched. I was surprsied he did well in this series. It is the right time for him to call it quits. Lack of feet movement is fine when you are in touch.But once you hit a bad patch that will expose you brutally. He had his moments. Infact he did better in England than Warner who was a bonafide legend for Australia.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
He has suffered racial abuse well documented through the years and his family have been abused at the ground too.
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I seriously doubt this. Racial abuse only reserved for Indians as aussies and westerners can clearly tell Pak (East and West) origin people from Indians
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Yea.. they didn't care about his views on world issues as well. THey just gave him run based on his performances and past performance and availability of bench. They always backed him. That is why they originally dropped him and brought him back again based on sheffield shield performance. He looked totally done in the last few series i watched. I was surprsied he did well in this series. It is the right time for him to call it quits. Lack of feet movement is fine when you are in touch.But once you hit a bad patch that will expose you brutally. He had his moments. Infact he did better in England than Warner who was a bonafide legend for Australia.
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He did much better than Warner in Asia too. Infact, Warner's record in Asia is pretty embarrassing and I can't remember a single time when he looked good in Asia. Eventhough Warner was obviously a much bigger and more impactful player for Australia than Khawaja.
 
hur rizvi said:
He scored 16 hundreds and averaged more than 43 in his career.

He was a pretty decent test batsman. Stop downplaying his calibre just because he’s of Pakistani descent
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His test Average
In England 28
In south Africa 24
In Westindies 19

He is nothing special player and less talk about limited cricket is better for him.

:kp
 
Major said:
Because taylor made similar statements i think in his book.

Cricket nz actually decided to investigate the racism taking place and even asked ross to help them in this case. But Ross backed out and changed his stance from racism to something that the people not being cultural sensitive or something of that sort.

He lost alot of credibility after that.

Now if CA decides to investigate and nothing comes up, Khawaja might also lose creadibility as Ross did and Khawajas career would be remembered based on his speech
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Similar statements doesn’t stop it being two different people with their own lived in experiences.

And a lot of Khwaja’s complaints weren’t about the board but rather his treatment as part of the wider cricketing environment. Look at the golf example he gave, where because he got injured playing golf before a test, the media went after him. When his white teammates did the exact same thing, nothing as raised by the media. That’s not him whinging, it’s a demonstrable example of media bias.

And as regards other Australians criticising him, if they’ve never experienced it, how could they ever relate?
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
It's his platform therefore it is up to him to speak his mind.

He has had a good career for Australia and he has more than earned the right to say what he wants to say.

If people bothered to listen to what he said, he is very clearly coming from the mindset of, I don't want the next colored player for Australia to face the discrimination he faced. And that's an admirable view-point to have. I feel because our people themselves are some of the most racist people on the planet, to the extent that racism and colorism is ingrained in our culture, that alot of people think he is "whining".

Maybe when you play 88 Tests for your country you can decide whether you want to 'whine' or thank your club cricket coach in your farewell speech..
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He said people who were criticising him playing golf the day before Ashes were being racist or something to that effect. Sounds silly to me.
 
If it was a lecture or a rant on racism then this was the best platform and moment to share his thoughts and experience on it.

He may never get a moment like this where the entire world was watching him and carefully listened to what he had to say.

So much so that we now even have a thread on PakPassion. Trying to analyze and dissect the ratio of racism to farewell.
 
Devadwal said:
Wearing a logo on shoes to support the terror organisation ( Hamas) is what you called? He is not Saint as you're portraying him.

Yes he may face the racism at lower level as most of the desi people's faced in western nation's.

But he should be thankful for Australia cricket to represent them. Its a previlage .

He is nothing extraordinary batsman but just a decent batsman that's too in test cricket Only. He is grabage in limited over cricket.

:klopp :kp
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This is a take so dumb that if I tried to answer it with any kind of seriousness, I would be no different from you.
 
Major said:
Usman Khawaja's retirement speech was way more about race than his own playing career. It gave Ross Taylor vibes, who NZC took very serious, and after investigation never found any racism.

It is no secret that Cricket Australia accommodated him by not forcing him to wear those alcohol sponsorships, often captains not making him isolated when he wasnt part of the champagne celebrations.

Yet, Khawaja went on a rant.

Do you think his speech focused on racism more, and was it justified?
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Calling someone’s personal experience with racism a rant is a ridiculous thing to say.

I’d expect this from an uninformed hillbilly type white guy in Australia but not someone on this forum.
 
Devadwal said:
His test Average
In England 28
In south Africa 24
In Westindies 19

He is nothing special player and less talk about limited cricket is better for him.

:kp
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So?

He was a decent batsman and enjoyed a respectable career.

You are the type of racist who would look down upon anything or anyone with Pakistan connection
 
hur rizvi said:
So?

He was a decent batsman and enjoyed a respectable career.

You are the type of racist who would look down upon anything or anyone with Pakistan connection
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Why you're burning just because I showed you him true stats? He is nothing players and easily replaced by someone else's.

:kp
 
Cummins instructed his team mates from champagne spraying celebration after 2022 Ashes win in respect of Usman's beliefs. All Austrlaian cricketers strongly supported Khawaj's stance on gaza.So there were lot of guys stood with him. Some real superstars. So i would have focused on thanking those guys instead of bunch of nobodies who he was afraid of when he was young.. A positive message.
 
RidiculousMan said:
If it was a lecture or a rant on racism then this was the best platform and moment to share his thoughts and experience on it.

He may never get a moment like this where the entire world was watching him and carefully listened to what he had to say.

So much so that we now even have a thread on PakPassion. Trying to analyze and dissect the ratio of racism to farewell.
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So if CA was to investigate its own circuit and find nothing of which Khawaja claims, than what?

I actually hope CA looks into this and Khawaja also assists them.

Khawaja could had left more gracefully and would had been talked about how an immigrant boy made it to the Australian team, but now all whats being talked about is his racism speech.

It was just racism, its that representation rant that makes zero sense when u look at how South Africa has done
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Cummins instructed his team mates from champagne spraying celebration after 2022 Ashes win in respect of Usman's beliefs. All Austrlaian cricketers strongly supported Khawaj's stance on gaza.So there were lot of guys stood with him. Some real superstars. So i would have focused on thanking those guys instead of bunch of nobodies who he was afraid of when he was young.. A positive message.
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They always play victim mentality and it's not a new thing. They are Very predictable. :kp
 
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