‘I never forget where I came from’ – Usman Khawaja expresses his love for Pakistan

Australia’s opening batter, Usman Khawaja, has recently opened up about his father supporting the Pakistan cricket team during his childhood days. Notably, the great opener shifted to Australia and made his debut for the Aussies despite being born and brought up in Pakistan. The left-handed batter was last seen in action playing the World Test Championship (WTC) Final and Ashes 2023. However, the opening batter is currently playing in their home league, Big Bash League BBL, which commenced on December 7.

Usman Khawaja revealed that his father was always Pakistan’s cricket team fan before they shifted to another country. In addition, the top-order batter has also opened up about how his father used to go to Karachi to watch cricket games to support the Pakistan team.

“My dad (Tariq), obviously grew up in Pakistan and supported Pakistan in cricket and would have been about 40 when we emigrated. I am sure for him there is a bit of nostalgia when I play Pakistan. There certainly was nostalgia when I was in Pakistan (in 2022) because growing up, I used to hear my dad talk about going to watch cricket games in Karachi at the stadium,” Usman Khawaja said being quoted by Sportskeeda.

People always want to discard Pakistan but that bowling attack is tough work: Usman Khawaja

The Islamabad-born cricketer says that he loved Australia, but he can’t forget Pakistan owing to his birthplace and his deep roots in the country. Moreover, the southpaw also talks about their three-match Test series against the Men in Green, slated to commence on December 14 in Perth.

“So me getting a Test hundred in Karachi, that was really special. That meant a lot. I love Australia, but I never forget where I came from. Some of my dad’s heroes were Pakistani cricketers. He talks a lot about Javed Miandad, probably his favourite batsman, and Zaheer Abbas. It will be tough. People always want to discard Pakistan but that bowling attack is tough work. The biggest thing for Pakistan is whether their batting can hold up in our conditions,” he added further.