IND vs AUS LIVE: Australia batter Usman Khawaja believes that if Australia’s men’s Test team can triumph in each of the three significant titles they have coming up in the next six months, they will be remembered as a great team. The team leaves the next week for the first of three overseas excursions that will define their standing in the history of the sport, which will be to India. After that, there will be a World Test Championship final in early June before the Ashes, when Australia will attempt to win the Ashes series in England for the first time since 2001 and retain the trophy they won in 2019. Australia hasn’t triumphed in India since 2004-2005. Follow India vs Australia LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN
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IND vs AUS LIVE: Usman Khawaja pumped up by ‘era-defining’ six months for Australian Test team as Aussies get ready for India Tour, WTC & Ashes challenge, Follow LIVE
When asked if the squad would deserve the moniker of great if they won the three available championships, Usman Khawaja said, “100%, definitely. But win, lose or draw, we’ve played some amazing cricket. We are the world No. 1 team at the moment, have been for last year, we’ve got some terrific players in this team. [We’ve got] one of the best Test cricket batsmen I’ve seen, Steve Smith, and got some amazing bowlers, too.
“Personally, it’s probably the best team I’ve been a part of because even when I came into the side we were sort of in transition. We had some great players, [and] some new players in between, so it’s just really nice to be in a team where everyone trusts each other and looking forward to what will happen over the next six months.”
After watching the 2001 series slip away, Jason Gillespie, a member of the team who triumphed there in 2004, offered his opinion on what success in India would mean for the team.
“Let’s be honest, for this group of Australian players, this could be a career-defining tour,” he said. “All us cricket tragics and fans should be pretty excited about this group of players, I know I’m excited as a cricket fan to see what this group of players can achieve in India.”
Khawaja was a part of the teams that travelled to India in 2013 and 2017, but he has yet to play a Test match there. Four players from the 2013 tour were penalised for one Test match in “homeworkgate” after they failed to submit a Mickey Arthur-invited assignment. He belonged to them.
Usman Khawaja returns this time around as a more skilled batter who is much more at ease in a loose environment. While keeping an eye on the India tour over the past several months, he planned a portion of his training throughout the domestic summer.
“We’ve always got one eye on future tours, no matter what,” he said. “We do take it one tour at a time but you have to have one eye on the tour, especially if you are going from here to India with very different conditions.
“Even the way I’ve been practicing, I’ve been practicing for these [home] games here but when I feel I’ve ticked that off I go and do stuff I feel I need to for next two months. I know there’s a lot of other guys who are similar, just comes from maturity. A lot of us are pretty old now, we’ve been around for a while now, with that maturity we understand you need to have one eye ahead.”
While some of the 18-member team will continue with their BBL teams for the first round of the playoffs, others, like Khawaja, will go to Sydney for a training camp. Early the following week, the squad leaves for India, staying in Bengaluru first before travelling to Nagpur for the first Test, which begins on February 9.
IND vs AUS LIVE: Usman Khawaja pumped up by ‘era-defining’ six months for Australian Test team as Aussies get ready for India Tour, WTC & Ashes challenge, Follow LIVE
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