No indication that Khawaja will retire after Sydney Test – Andrew McDonald

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has said there has been no conversation around Usman Khawaja retiring after the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.

"He's with his family at the moment having a couple of days off," McDonald said. "We're always having conversations about where players are at, there's no indication at my end that he's calling it in Sydney.

"But his performance in this calendar year has been good enough to warrant selection, so I'd say he'll be there marking centre in Sydney."

Australia do not play another Test after Sydney until August, when they host Bangladesh. That is followed by a tour of South Africa, a home series against New Zealand and a tour of India, making it 13 Tests between October and March.

While the 39-year-old is expected to play in Sydney, McDonald said any decisions around Khawaja's long-term future can wait.

"I think Uz will come to us if he's going to retire, there's no doubt about that," McDonald said. "And then after this Test match, we've got eight months until the next one, so we've got a lot of time as a selection group to make that decision.

"If there was a series straight off the back of this, then it would be a little bit different. But with the eight-month gap, as a selection panel, we've got a lot of time to think about our next Test team should Uz push forward."

If Khawaja does choose to retire in Sydney, it would come in a city where he spent much of his life after relocating to Australia.

McDonald said Australia would want to acknowledge any senior player should they decide to call time on their career.

"We use Davey Warner as a test case, he got clapped off the SCG three years in a row because everyone thought it was going to be his last Test match," McDonald said. "If Uz makes no statement around his future leading into that Test match, that crowd will still be very supportive of him.

"Our challenge is if any of our great players retire, is that you want to acknowledge them."