There is tension between Test batter Usman Khawaja and Queensland Cricket ahead of next week’s Sheffield Shield final, but he is likely to be named in an extended squad for the final on Friday with a decision on whether he plays or not to come ahead of the game starting next Wednesday.
Khawaja, 38, and Queensland Cricket are at odds over his absence from the last Shield game of the season against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval, where Queensland secured a draw which qualified them for the final against South Australia at the same venue.
Khawaja attended all five days of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne while the game was going on in Adelaide but posted on social media on Tuesday that he was rehabbing a hamstring niggle that he picked up while making match-winning contributions of 127 and 33 not out in the Bulls previous win over Tasmania. There is also a suggestion he is managing an ankle issue that flared up during the Sri Lanka tour although that did not stop him playing against Tasmania.
Queensland Cricket general manager Joe Dawes made strong comments on Wednesday suggesting that Khawaja was not injured and insisted Queensland’s medical staff had declared him available for selection.
“That is my understanding from Cricket Australia staff as well. No hamstring issues as far as we are concerned,” Dawes told reporters at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday.
“I go off our medical staff and there is no reason why he could not have played the last game. It’s just disappointing he didn’t play a game for Queensland when he had an opportunity to. I have got a bunch of blokes here that all want to play. I think we are disappointed he did not play the game against South Australia. That’s the decision he made and he has communicated some of the reasons for that in the public. Hopefully he will make that decision to make himself available for next week and we will make that decision on Friday.”
Khawaja was not the only Cricket Australia contracted player who did not play in the final round of the season. Nathan Lyon also attended the Australian Formula One Grand Prix with Khawaja and has not played since returning from Sri Lanka due to management of a hip issue. Steven Smith did not play the final round for New South Wales after returning from the Champions Trophy but Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey both played for Queensland and South Australia respectively.
Every CA and state-contracted player who is headed to the IPL also did not play in the final Shield round as they were all given No-Objection Certificates to head to India ahead of the tournament starting on Saturday.
Khawaja has already played 11 first-class matches this summer including seven Tests, meaning he has already played more games and days than any Australian domestic red-ball-only batter would play in a Shield summer in total. The 38-year-old has managed his schedule carefully in recent years, valuing rest over playing a lot of back-to-back games in order to remain mentally and physically fresh for his Test commitments as he attempts to extend his career as long as possible.
That management plan has been supported by CA. He missed one of Queensland’s first four Shield games to freshen up ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and missed the Shield game against Western Australia that started nine days after the tour of Sri Lanka where he scored a career-best 232 not out in the first Test.
However, Khawaja is likely to have all of April and May to rest after the Shield final finishes on March 30 before preparing for four Tests in June and July which include the WTC final and a three-Test tour of the Caribbean. He won’t have any international commitments thereafter until the Ashes begin in late November.