Usman Khawaja's 19-Year Dream: Transforming the Landscape of Australian Cricket

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Cricket has defined his life up to this point. Playing for Australia was a lifelong goal, he told this SBS reporter in 2007 when he was just 18.

He told me all he ever wanted was to represent Australia at cricket.

“Definitely, that’s the dream I’ve had since I was a child, that’d be the best thing in the world to make my life complete.”

In January 2011, Usman Khawaja reached a significant milestone in his cricket career when he received his baggy green cap at the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney. This moment marked his debut in the Australian Test team, a noteworthy achievement for any cricketer.

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja as a teenager in a yellow jersey and a white cap.

Reflecting on his journey, Khawaja, who had spoken to SBS back in 2007 as a teenager, has always been vocal about issues close to his heart. At a press conference discussing his retirement, he courageously addressed the racism he endured during his early years.

“As a proud Muslim and a person of color from Pakistan, I was often told I’d never make it to the Australian cricket team. Yet, here I am,” he expressed, highlighting the challenges he overcame.

The first Muslim player to wear a baggy green cap expanded on his personal struggles.

Khawaja pointed to racial barriers within the game, being the victim of stereotyping, which he also blamed on some in the media, too. He felt bitter about criticism for playing golf in the lead-up to November’s first Ashes Test in Perth.

He developed back spasms which hindered him in the match and forced him to miss the second test in Brisbane altogether.

“‘He’s selfish, he doesn’t train hard enough, he didn’t train the day before the game’, ‘he’s lazy’. These are the same stereotypes — racial stereotypes — I’ve grown up with my whole life,” Khawaja said.

Khawaja pointed out the disparity in treatment he faced compared to his white counterparts, suggesting that similar circumstances would have been different for a white player.

Not everyone thought his farewell conference was the right time to air his grievances. The first Indigenous cricketer to play for Australia, Jason Gillespie, felt Khawaja had gone too far and described some of his comments as a “temper tantrum”.

Cricket Australia (CA) has, for many years, been working to make the sport more inclusive and accessible to players from multicultural backgrounds. But it’s a long and sometimes difficult road as Khawaja’s comments highlight.

Patrick Skene is the co-founder of Cultural Pulse, an organisation that facilitates engagement with multicultural and linguistically diverse Australians.

In response to such issues, Cricket Australia (CA) launched the ‘Sport for All Program’ in 2015, a move that Skene noted has significantly encouraged participation from Australia’s diverse migrant communities across all levels of the sport.

“CA has executed a dedicated South Asian engagement strategy, including a community ambassador program, South Asian program managers and South Asian representation in marketing … Cricket Australia should be acknowledged for its work in the space,” Skene said.

As Khawaja exits international cricket, the next generation of multicultural players is already knocking on the door.

This month’s Under-19 World Cup squad includes Nitesh Samuel and Aryan Sharma, who have Sri Lankan and Indian backgrounds, respectively. Along with Alana King’s starring role with Australia’s women’s team, they could indicate the multicultural future of cricket is bright.

A woman wearing the Australian team's uniform is cheering during a match.

Australia’s Alana King celebrates the wicket of New Zealand’s Brooke Halliday during the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup cricket match between New Zealand and Australia in 2025. Source: AAP / Rafiq Maqbool/AP

Last year’s Australian Under-17 championships featured 33 players of South Asian heritage — 23 per cent of the total number of players in the state squads.

Skene believes that’s a clear sign the next Usman Khawaja or Alana King won’t be too far away.

“We are evolving from outliers to significant numbers of South Asian heritage players in the elite talent funnel and the weight of numbers will produce a new generation to follow in Usman’s footsteps,” he said.

Khawaja started his own foundation in 2018 to help youth from migrant communities achieve their potential. He has also called for Islamophobia to be condemned, and met with the prime minister last year to campaign for support for Gazans.

Two cricketers hold up a jersey in front of the cameras.

Babar Azam donates a team jersey to Usman Khawaja for the Usman Khawaja Foundation during a media opportunity at The Gabba in 2024. Source: Getty / Albert Perez

Khawaja wore shoes during matches with handwritten messages such as “All lives are equal” and “Freedom is a human right”. He also wore a dove symbol on his bat and a black armband in solidarity with the Palestinian people, called for sanctions on Israel, and supported the recognition of Palestinian statehood.

It has been suggested in cricket circles that Khawaja might one day consider moving into politics. After his final test innings, he walked off the Sydney Cricket Ground to a hero’s reception and sank to his knees to kiss the turf where his test career started and ended.

“For one last time to be thankful for what I’ve been given,” he said.

Usman Khawaja kisses the ground at the SCG.

Usman Khawaja kissed the turf after he was dismissed playing his last match during day five of the fifth test in the 2025/26 Ashes series at Sydney Cricket Ground. Source: Getty / Robert Cianflone

The 39-year-old will, in the immediate future, spend more time with his growing family and perhaps play a little more golf. The curtain falling on his playing career has seen him become a little more philosophical than the 18-year-old who once only cared about playing for Australia.

“A lot of times in life, we worry about what we want — we always want more. It’s all about what else do we have, what else do we want?”