Usman Khawaja to retire after SCG Test

Usman Khawaja has announced he will retire from international cricket after this week's fifth Ashes Test against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The match will be his 88th and final Test.

The 39-year-old informed his teammates on Friday morning, ending a Test career that began in 2011. Khawaja has scored more than 6,000 Test runs across 15 years.

"I lived just up the road from the SCG," Khawaja said in an emotional retirement speech. "As a boy whose parents were barely scraping by, I thought, 'One day I'm going to be a Test cricketer.' Never did I think that God would grant me such a wish."

Born in Pakistan and raised in Australia, Khawaja became the country's first Pakistan-born and first Muslim Test cricketer.

"I'm a proud Muslim coloured boy from Pakistan who was told he would never play for the Australian cricket team. Look at me now," Khawaja said.

After periods out of the Test side, Khawaja rebuilt his career following a move from New South Wales to Queensland in 2012. He captained Queensland to the Sheffield Shield title in 2020-21.

Khawaja's Test career was revived during the 2021-22 Ashes, when he scored twin centuries at the SCG. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2023 Ashes and played a key role in Australia's World Test Championship triumph. In 2023, he was named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year.

"As I walk off for the last time I do so with gratitude and peace," Khawaja said.

Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg said: "Usman has made a huge contribution to Australian cricket both on and off the field. We look forward to celebrating his significant contribution at the Pink Test this week."