Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has suffered a setback in his bid to return to the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies after being ruled out of a domestic Twenty20 match by his Sydney Thunder side on Monday.
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja is likely to replace injured Kevin Pietersen in the squad of Rising Pune Supergiants in season 9 of Indian Premier League. Pietersen was ruled out of the IPL on Sunday, leaving the subcontinent with a hole in his calf muscle and in Pune's batting order. If picked, this will be Khawaja's maiden IPL stint. The left-handed top-order batsman had gone unsold at IPL auctions in February despite scoring heavily in Australia's domestic circuit. Pune have not named a replacement for KP, but Khawaja is the one of the frontrunners, according to Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming. "He (Khawaja) is a guy we are surely looking at," Fleming said after the two-wicket loss to Kolkata on Sunday.
Usman Khawaja hit Australia's first century of the series and Peter Handscomb scored a half-century on debut as the hosts reached 307 for six with a lead of 48 at end of the second day of the day-night third Test against South Africa in Adelaide.
Usman Khawaja proved his fitness with an unbeaten century in the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League at the weekend to secure his place in the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies.
'I'm leaning towards McSweeney now for that opening role at the start of the Australian summer.'
Despite the challenging build-up, Gambhir said he is "extremely confident" of retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The players will hope to be as confident as they prepare for the fight to keep their World Test Final chances alive.
A century stand from Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja propelled Australia to a nine-wicket victory over Ireland in their one-off One-Day International played at Willowmoore Park on Tuesday. Ireland won the toss and elected to bat but were bowled out for 198, a target that never looked enough against the Australians, who posted 199 for one for the loss of opener David Warner (48), with almost 20 overs to spare.
Australia opener Nathan McSweeney is gearing up for a challenging debut against India's premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India did not respect the match situation, the playing conditions, and the bowlers, and they've paid a price for it.
Usman Khawaja hit an impressive century ahead of the three-Test series against Sri Lanka, as Australia took the upper hand in their warm-up match against Sri Lanka Board XI's in Colombo on Friday. The Pakistan-born batsman scored 101 before retiring, as the tourists amassed 311-5 in their first innings in reply to a the Sri Lanka Board XI's 258 at stumps on the penultimate day of the three-day game.
If the humiliation of India being able to declare their second innings on 487/6 reflected poorly on the bowling unit, it was the Australian batting line-up dismissed for 104 in their first innings that bore the brunt of the blame.
Ravi Shastri, who knows a thing or two about winning Test rubbers in Australia, on Thursday asked India skipper Rohit Sharma
Both Wade and Marsh were part of the Australia A squad who begin their four-day clash with Sussex in Arundel on Sunday.
The left-hander underwent scans on his jaw after being struck by an Andre Russell bouncer in the second over of Australia's innings
Australia's Test regulars will skip the three-match series against Pakistan in November as they prepare for the blockbuster clash against India.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald believes the absence of Mohammed Shami during the marquee Border Gavaskar Trophy next month is a huge loss for India.
'Unique action, and it's a little bit tricky to pick up some cues.'
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Australia in Perth?
Former all-rounder Shane Watson has advised the Australian team to avoid getting into confrontations with Virat Kohli in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Back-to-back Test series wins over Australia are almost unheard of but India have won the last four they have played.
Out-of-form skipper Rohit Sharma's batting position will be in focus against a dangerous Australia
A survivalist's mindset sees Indian batsmen fail again on the first day of the SCG Test.
Usman Khawaja will have an opportunity to audition for Ricky Ponting's spot in the Test team after the left-hander was named captain of the Australia Chairman's XI to take on Sri Lanka in Canberra next week.
Former Australian skipper Aaron Finch said that Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant, two left-handed wicketkeeper-batters will be extremely important for their respective sides during the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.
Usman Khawaja found his scoring touch and fast bowler Mitchell Starc returned to his fiery best as Australia moved within sight of victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval on Sunday.
The blockbuster series will be a survival of the fittest as Australia look to avenge successive losses on home soil when they go head-to-head from Friday.
With the series locked at 1-1, Brisbane could well decide the course of the rubber and whether Rohit's men would continue to be the master of their fate in the ongoing World Test Championship.
The biggest positives with the bat in Perth were Virat Kohli regaining his rhythm and Jaiswal's coming of age hundred in his debut Test in Australia. Both will look to build on those significant gains in Adelaide.
Australia batsman Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the remainder of the Sri Lanka tour with a broken little finger. Confirming the news, Australia physiotherapist David Beakley said that Marsh suffered an injury to his left little finger while fielding, adding that the batsman would now return to Perth to recover fully from his injury, Sport24 reported.
'(Bumrah) is so unique, and that's with any of the bowlers, really. Every (batter) picks up different cues and goes about it in a different way.'
Usman Khawaja is doubtful for the day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide later this month after the Australian top order batsman re-injured his left hamstring while fielding at the WACA on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the 5th and final opening Test between Australia and England at the SCG in Sydney on Friday
'I got pulled out of that series to prepare for India and then not playing was a bit hard'
Australia batter Usman Khawaja heaped praise on Pakistan skipper Babar Azam by calling him "one of the best batsmen" ahead of the first Test clash between the two cricketing giants.
Following the retirements of Chris Rogers, captain Michael Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson, Smith will lead a team in transition into the three-match series which wraps up with cricket's first day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Pakistan-born Australian batsman Usman Khawaja on Tuesday claimed that his visa for travelling to India to participate in next month's Champions League T20 was held up because of his country of birth.
Batsmen Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges and Joe Burns have been rewarded for their strong form over the past 12 months by being awarded central contracts by Cricket Australia on Friday.
Test cricket has not always been kind to the left-hander, who has been dropped and recalled from the team several times with questions raised over his ability to play spin and his work ethic.
Openers Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns struck sedate half centuries as Australia 'A' cantered to a nine-wicket victory over South Africa 'A' in the first tri-series cricket match in Chennai.
Usman Khawaja scored 75 runs to lead an Australia fightback on the third day of the second Test against South Africa at St George's Park, but succumbed just before close of play after seeing the tourists cancel out a first innings deficit.
