Ashes: Usman Khawaja hits out at racial stereotyping, says 'I've always felt a little bit different'

Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has hit out at racial stereotyping, having called time on his career on Friday (Jan 2). As announced, the upcoming Sydney Test in the Ashes will be his last for the Baggy Greens and he will walk out for one last time on Sunday. During the presser, he addressed racial abuse while coming into the national team with a Pakistani origin.

Khawaja addresses racial stereotyping

"I've always felt a little bit different, even to now," Khawaja said while addressing the press conference on Friday (Jan 2). "I'm a coloured cricketer. The Australian cricket team is, in my opinion, that's our best team. It's our pride and joy. But I've also felt very different in a lot of respects, different by the way I've been treated, different in how things have happened.

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"I had back spasms, and that's something I couldn't control. But the way the media and the past players came out and attacked me, I could have copped it for two days, but I copped it for about five days straight. And it wasn't even about my performances,” Khawaja added.

Khawaja, who debuted at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 2010-11 Ashes, will finish his international career at the same ground, playing his 88th and final Test for Australia.

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Khawaja has been instrumental to Australia’s success in the Test format in recent years and has served the nation well. He scored 82 in the Adelaide Test but was subsequently dropped for the Brisbane Test. When injuries later affected the Australian side, Khawaja was recalled.

The 39-year-old has played in 87 Test matches, smashing 6206 runs with a best of 232. He has also played in the ODI and T20I formats with 40 and 9 matches, respectively.