Usman Khawaja has lifted the lid on Australian cricket and the way he believes racial bias remains to be impacting the sport to today.
During an in-depth interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he revealed he didn’t assist the Australian group rising up.
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But it was Khawaja’s feedback relating to the present state of cricket within the nation and the way regardless of the instances altering, the sport hasn’t modified with them.
He stated he felt the panorama of the sport lacked illustration on the highest stage which might be a significant concern for any younger participant of color.
“That’s where I’m trying to work with Cricket Australia saying, ‘Look, guys … you invest a lot of money into this, but something’s not going right. You’ve been doing it for 10 years and nothing’s changed’,” Khawaja instructed the publication.
Despite Australia’s unbridled success over time, it hasn’t translated into youthful generations from differing backgrounds to get behind the nation the place they have been born.
The 36-year-old stated one of many largest points at Cricket Australia is having a entrance workplace that options no individuals of color.
“There’s subconscious bias. If you have two cricketers, one brown, one white, both the same, the white coach is going to pick the white cricketer just because he has a son that might look similar to him. It’s what’s familiar to him,” Khawaja instructed the publication.
Khawaja, born in Pakistan, stays an distinctive case being one in all few individuals of color to have made it not simply to the highest however succeeded on the highest stage.
In a damning reveal on social media, Khawaja revealed how regardless of being on the prime stage of cricket, he was nonetheless stopped in his tracks by safety at venues round Australia.
“You get use to it. I got stopped 3 times last year at our hotel, while in Australian Kit and asked if I was with the Australian Cricket team,” Khawaja wrote.
His revelation got here in response to cricket author Bharat Sundaresan posting about being questioned over his credentials and safety employees mocking him.
Khawaja has confronted a rollercoaster since making his Test cricket debut again in 2011. Over the previous 12 years he has been out and in of the group.
With 56 Tests beneath his belt and a median of 47.83, many have been left to query how he wasn’t a locked in staple together with his type over the earlier 12 months.
The supremely-talented opener has averaged an absurd 76.98 since being introduced again into the group and he says there ought to have been much more instances when he was referred to as up however others have been put above him within the pecking order.
“There’s been plenty of times I should’ve been picked for teams and I wasn’t,” he stated.
“But it just made me have a bigger chip on my shoulder.”
Despite the continued struggles, Khawaja isn’t going to surrender anytime quickly as he hopes the game can flip the nook.
“We’ve come a long,” he stated. “But I’ll keep doing it because I want people to know what it’s like.”
