Khawaja back in Australia Test squad

Batsman Usman Khawaja, who due to injury missed out on participating in the last two Tests Australia played, was drafted in the 13-man squad for the Boxing Day Test against West Indies.

Published : Dec 13, 2015 18:07 IST , Melbourne

Usman Khawaja suffered a hamstring injury on the second day of the second Test in Perth against New Zealand for the Trans Tasman trophy.
Usman Khawaja suffered a hamstring injury on the second day of the second Test in Perth against New Zealand for the Trans Tasman trophy.
lightbox-info

Usman Khawaja suffered a hamstring injury on the second day of the second Test in Perth against New Zealand for the Trans Tasman trophy.

Australia have put in batsman Usman Khawaja’s name in the 13-man squad for the Boxing day Test against West Indies.Right-hander Khawaja missed the first Test between the two sides because of a hamstring injury. He will have two games for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League in the lead-up to the Boxing Day (December 26) to push his case for a recall after his replacement, Shaun Marsh, made 182 in the first Test win against the West Indies in Hobart, according to cricket.com.au .

The Queensland captain struck back-to-back centuries in the first two Tests of the summer against New Zealand before sustaining a hamstring injury on day two in Perth. “Usman will come into the 13 for the Melbourne Test match subject to fitness. That’s the big one for us,” Australia coach Darren Lehmann said.

New South Wales (NSW) Blues left-arm spinner Stephen O’Keefe will join the team in Sydney as part of a 14-man squad for the New Year’s Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “Then (Stephen) O’Keefe will come into Sydney as well. So we’ll have 13 and 14 (players) for the next two Test matches and then with that we’ve got to make some decisions. Usman’s first got to be fit. If he’s not fit, he won’t play, there’s no doubt about that.

“We’ve got to make sure he’s (Khawaja) playing BBL to get some sort of match fitness and see how the strain of the hamstring is and then when we get him in on the 23rd (December) we’ll have a look at him and see whether he’s available to play. We’ve got a dilemma. We’ve just got to pick the best team to win that particular game. If Usman is in then someone’s got to miss out. If he’s not in, then probably the same six (batsmen),” he concluded.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment