Usman Khawaja pens an emotional note: He may have missed out on a century by just three runs in the first Test in Rawalpindi. But didn’t in the second in Karachi. This is Usman Khawaja’s Pakistan homecoming, his first Test series in the country of his birth, and wasn’t leaving without a century.
Usman Khawaja batted through the entire Day 1 of the Karachi Test to notch up his 11th Test hundred in the city in which he spent his early childhood. The 35-year-old Khawaja was born in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, before moving to Australia with his family.
Upon registering this special century, the southpaw penned down an emotional note.
On his Twitter profile, Usman Khawaja wrote: “Back to the home of the Khawaja’s. Where my parents are from, and their parents. I played cricket on these streets as a kid when we visited. Couldn’t have asked for a better gift.”
Here’s Khawaja’s heartfelt post:
Back to the home of the Khawaja’s. Where my parents are from, and their parents. I played cricket on these streets as a kid when we visited. Couldn’t have asked for a better gift. #alhamdulillah #cricket #test ? https://t.co/oeuloSBcWa
— Usman Khawaja (@Uz_Khawaja) March 12, 2022
The left-hander had made his Test debut in 2011 and cemented his place by 2015. He’d however find himself out of the side after the 2019 Ashes with Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head emerging as bright prospects.
Usman Khawaja stormed his way back in with heaps of runs in domestic cricket, and an injury to Travis Head ahead of the Sydney Ashes Test in January paved the way for Khawaja’s return to the eleven.
Knowing that he will have to make way for Head in the next Test, Usman Khawaja grabbed the opportunity with both hands – slamming twin centuries against the English at the SCG making it impossible for the management to drop him then; opener Marcus Harris was axed as Khawaja was moved to the opening position upon Head’s return.
After a long wait of 11 years since making his Test debut, Australia confirmed their tour of Pakistan, their first since 1998, and it came at the time when Khawaja is at his best. In both Rawalpindi and Karachi, the left-hander had patiently weathered Pakistan’s fast-bowling attack early on before cashing in on later in the day.
A misjudged reverse sweep brought his downfall in Rawalpindi on 97, but he made sure he crossed the century mark in Karachi, “the home of the Khawaja’s”.
