Recharged Khawaja adds resilience to Aussie batting

And then, Travis Head contracted Covid-19. On the eve of the Sydney Test against England in January 2022, Head’s unexpected unavailability opened the door for Khawaja to slot into the middle-order. As we know now, he simply hasn’t looked back. He notched up twin tons in that Sydney Test, establishing himself as an indispensable member thereafter. When Head returned for the next Test in Hobart, Khawaja readily returned to his accustomed opening position. Since the start of 2022, nobody has scored more Test runs than Khawaja’s 1,827 in 18 matches. He also averages an impressive 67.66 in this period, again the best of the top ten run-getters.

Luck may have played a part in his return to the Test fold, but there’s been nothing fortuitous about how Khawaja has capitalized on that opportunity. Unlike his earlier avatars when he was constantly in and out of the team, Khawaja has countered spin and swing with a greater degree of success in his latest stint. Numbers bear testimony to Khawaja now being a batter for all seasons and situations.

Until 2021, Khawaja averaged 52.97 at home and just 24.36 in away Tests — a disconcerting difference that exposed his frailties outside Australia. Given his Asian roots, Khawaja's struggle to cope with spin in particular was a tad startling.

It's here that Khawaja has made giant strides. While his home average remains above reproach at 64.2 in seven Tests since his comeback, he has tallied 1,172 runs at an average of 78.13 in 10 Tests away from home too.

The runs have come across conditions and time zones — the flat and docile surfaces of Pakistan, the dust bowls of Sri Lanka and India, and now in England. His contributions of 141 and 65 at Edgbaston in the past week may carry just a bit more weight, judged as Australians are by how they fare against the old enemy. It was against England that Khawaja made his Test debut in January 2011.

It was also against England that Khawaja suffered the ignominy of being dropped from the side, first in 2013 and then in 2019. Ahead of the Ashes this year, conquering England in England consequently became the ultimate challenge.

“I think it (the celebration) was a combination of having three Ashes tours in England and being dropped in two of them. Not that I have a point to prove, but it’s nice to go out there and score runs for Australia and just to show everyone that the last 10 years hasn’t been a fluke,” he told reporters after his century in the first innings at Edgbaston.

Key to his evolution on the field has been the journey of self-discovery off the field. Having broken the glass ceiling by becoming the first Muslim to play for Australia, Khawaja had to deal with a vast spectrum of emotions early in his career. Concurrent with learning about his game at the highest level, he was also trying to fit in and be one of the blokes in the Aussie camp.

“The biggest challenge for me throughout my career playing for Australia has been fitting in. For me it is always about fitting in and feeling like I can be myself in the Australian cricket team and that has taken a little bit of time,” Khawaja told the International Cricket Council (ICC) before the World Test Championship final against India earlier this month.

“A little bit of that is earning the respect of my teammates by scoring runs and performing on the field, and the other side is me being myself and comfortable in my own skin.”

That Khawaja is now comfortable in his own skin also manifests in the way he goes about his game. Amid all the frenzy about Bazball revolutionizing Test cricket, Khawaja was happy to not get swayed at Edgbaston. His strike rate was 43.92 in the first innings and 32.99 in the second essay.

As long as Khawaja gets the job done, there are many more bonuses coming his way.