Usman Tariq Khawaja (; born 18 December 1986) is a former Australian international cricketer who represented the Australia national cricket team in all formats from 2011 to 2026. Khawaja still plays for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. Khawaja played domestic cricket for New South Wales from 2007 to 2012, before moving to Queensland where he would later become state captain and end his domestic career with them.
Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008 and played his first international match for Australia in January 2011. He played for the Sydney Thunder from 2011 to 2022, with whom he won the 2015–16 Big Bash League season, winning man of the match in the final, top scoring with 70 runs. He has played county cricket in the United Kingdom and briefly played in both the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League Twenty20 tournaments. Khawaja captained Queensland in first class cricket and from 2015 to 2024, captaining them to the 2020–21 Sheffield Shield title, batting No. 4. Khawaja opened the batting and scored a hundred, winning man of the match for the Queensland team that won the 2013–14 Ryobi One-Day Cup final.
Khawaja played ODI cricket sporadically from 2013 to 2019 and only played T20I cricket for one season in 2016. He played in both the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2019 Cricket World Cup. A left-handed batter, Khawaja has spent the majority of his international career batting at No. 3 or opening the batting.
Khawaja was a member of the Australian team that won the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship. He was the second-highest scoring batsman in the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship with 1,621 runs, the highest by an Australian batsman. In 2023, he won the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year Award.
Khawaja retired from international cricket during the 2025/26 Ashes, announcing his farewell before the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. He bid farewell after the Sydney Test, helping Australia win the Ashes 4-1 over England.
Early and personal life Usman was born in Islamabad, Pakistan, to Tariq Khawaja and Fozia Tariq. His family emigrated to New South Wales when he was four. He became the first Australian of Pakistani origin to represent Australia in cricket when he made his debut in the 2010–11 Ashes series. He is a qualified commercial and instrument-rated pilot, completing a bachelor's degree in aviation from the University of New South Wales before he made his Test debut. He attained his basic pilot licence before his driving licence. He was educated at Westfields Sports High School in Fairfield West.
Usman Khawaja announced his engagement on 14 December 2016 on his Facebook page. and subsequently married his wife Rachel on 6 April 2018. Rachel Khawaja (née McLellan) converted to Islam prior to their wedding. Khawaja is a dual Australian and Pakistani citizen.
Views In December 2023, during a training session for Australia's first test match of the series against Pakistan, Khawaja wore shoes on which the words "All lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" were written in the colours of the Palestinian flag. The ICC warned Khawaja that it would sanction him if he continued to wear the shoes. During the first test match against Pakistan at Perth, he covered the writing on his shoes with tape and wore black armbands. The ICC ruled that the wearing of black armbands breached its clothing and equipment regulations. Khawaja stated that he "respect[s] the ICC and the rules and regulations" and will request the ICC apply "consistency in how they officiate".
Khawaja made a post on Instagram using the hashtags “#inconsistent and #doublestandards,” in which he pointed out several examples of other cricketers with symbols on their bats, such as ‘Om’ sticker for a Hindu player, or Bible verses and crosses for others. In response to Khawaja's issues with the ICC, former cricketer and commentator Michael Holding denounced the ICC for "hypocrisy and lack of moral standing," for allowing the players to "take the knee for Black Lives Matter" and having their stumps covered with LGBTQ colours. Australia captain Pat Cummins also supported Khawaja, stating that "We really support Uzzy. He's standing up for what he believes and I think he's done it really respectfully."
Khawaja supported commentator Peter Lalor after Lalor was sacked by his radio station in February 2025 for criticising Israel's actions during the Gaza war in social media posts. Khawaja said "Standing up for the people of Gaza is not antisemitic nor does it have anything to do with my Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia, but everything to do with the Israeli government and their deplorable actions". Khawaja refused an interview with Lalor's former radio station in June because of its treatment on Lalor.
Domestic and T20 career
A left-handed top order batsman, Khawaja was awarded Player of the Australian Under-19 Championship in 2005 and also played for Australia in the 2006 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka as an opening batsman.
He made his first-class debut for the New South Wales Blues in 2008. In the same year, he hit consecutive double centuries for the NSW Second XI—a feat never before achieved by a NSW player. On 22 June 2010 it was announced by Cricket Australia that Usman Khawaja would be a part of the Australian touring squad to play Pakistan in a two Test series in England.
Around 2012, Khawaja moved to Queensland cricket team, citing a fresh challenge to invigorate his career.
From 2011 to February 2022, Khawaja played for the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League. In BBL05, he was the second highest run scorer, scoring 345 runs at an average of 172.50.
Khawaja signed a contract to play for Derbyshire in the 2011 English domestic season. He played in four County Championship matches, averaging 39.87 with the bat and scoring a century (135) against Kent. After his county stint, he made five further Test appearances in 2011, scoring one half-century (65) against South Africa. He was dropped from Australia's Test team after the home series against New Zealand, making way for Shaun Marsh upon Marsh's return from injury.
Lancashire signed Khawaja as an overseas player for the 2014 county season for all formats. Khawaja scored 86 runs on his debut against Durham but in vain as Lancashire lost by 27 runs.
He plays club cricket for Valley District Cricket Club in Brisbane.
In August 2015, Khawaja was appointed as captain of the Queensland cricket team, replacing previous captain James Hopes.
In April 2018, he was signed by Glamorgan County Cricket Club to play in the 2018 Vitality Blast tournament in England. In April 2021, he was signed by Islamabad United to play the rescheduled matches in the 2021 Pakistan Super League.
In February 2022, Khawaja opted out of his contract with the Sydney Thunder, citing "family reasons".
On 29 June 2022, Khawaja was signed by the Brisbane Heat and appointed captain for the upcoming Big Bash season.
Shortly after his international retirement, Khawaja played on for Queensland during the 2025-26 season, following which he retired from Sheffield Shield, his last match being at the Gabba versus Western Australia .
International career Khawaja was selected as part of the 17-man Australian squad for the 2010–11 Ashes series. During the third Test, Ricky Ponting fractured his finger and Khawaja was named as a stand-by if Ponting could not recover in time. He was subsequently selected in the Australian cricket team to play in the fifth Test against England in Sydney on 3 January 2011. He batted at 3 and made 37 and 21 in a heavy innings defeat, (left arm orthodox spin bowler Michael Beer made his debut in the same match) . On 3 January 2011, Khawaja became the 419th Australian to be presented with an Australian Cricket Test baggy green cap. Khawaja became the first Muslim and first Pakistani-born Australian player to play Test cricket for Australia, and only the seventh foreign-born cricketer to do so in the last 80 years.
Before the third Test against India in March 2013, Australia suspended Khawaja, along with James Pattinson, Shane Watson and Mitchell Johnson following a breach of discipline. Michael Clarke, the captain, revealed that the step had been taken as a result of repeated infractions which led to Watson flying back home and contemplating Test retirement. Some former players reacted with astonishment at the decision taken by the team management. Khawaja made his Test return in the second Test of the 2013 Ashes series, replacing Ed Cowan.
In the first Test against New Zealand on 5 November 2015; his first Test in more than two years, he scored his maiden Test century, scoring 174 runs with 16 fours and 2 sixes. He made this return in his tenth Test in the coveted number 3 position, helping Australia to an emphatic victory.
He made his Twenty20 International debut for Australia against India on 31 January 2016.
During the 2015–16 season, Khawaja was in spectacular form for Australia and his domestic T20 franchise the Sydney Thunder, with many pundits hailing his renaissance as a batsman since being dropped from the Australian team in 2013 and recovering from an injury in 2015. He also switched to using Kookaburra equipment. In August 2016, Khawaja endured one of the lowest ebbs in test career when he was dismissed twice in a day's play for 11 runs and duck in both innings by Dilruwan Perera during Australia's second test match of the series against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium and question marks were raised about Khawaja's inability to play spin especially in subcontinental conditions. His vulnerability against spin also played a major reason in removing him from the team ahead of the third and the final test match of the series.
Additionally, Khawaja set a record for becoming the first ever batsman to score a Test century in an innings of a Day-Night Test match on home soil and still has the record for the second highest individual score in a Day-Night Test innings.
Khawaja played his first Test match against the country of his birth, Pakistan, on 15 December 2016 at the Gabba. When asked about the significance of the match, he described a moment of confusion outside the change rooms:
In January 2017, Khawaja dabbed in celebration of his half-century scored in a Test match against Pakistan in Sydney. His move received mixed reactions, with some praising it, while others accused him of disrespecting his opponents.
In April 2018, he was awarded a national contract by Cricket Australia for the 2018–19 season. He played a match saving innings against Pakistan in the first Test in 2018 at Dubai, where he played a fluent innings of 141 under immense pressure especially in the fourth innings opening the batting while chasing a mammoth total of 462 runs and for his efforts, he received player of the match award. He showed his glimpses of using proper technique and shot selection to counter the spin attack in the test match in Dubai in 2018 which turned out to be a turning point in his career and he buried the past nightmares of being a weak batsman against spin with a prolific batting effort by revamping his approach in both innings to save the test match for Australia from a brink of huge defeat.
In April 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In Australia's final group-stage match, against South Africa, Khawaja picked up a hamstring injury, ruling him out of the rest of the tournament. Matthew Wade was named as cover for him.
In July 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England. In the series, he returned the scores of 13, 40, 36, 2, 8 and 23, failing to convince. Therefore, for the fourth Ashes Test, Steve Smith replaced Khawaja after returning from concussion, while Marnus Labuschagne retained his place in the team.