With successive hundreds for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, Usman Khawaja poked fun at former Australian captain Ian Chappell, who had previously remarked that Khawaja is only good against "mediocre bowling attacks".
“Everyone’s got opinions – that’s fine. To me it’s water off a duck’s back,” Khawaja said, as reported by SEN.
Furthermore, the southpaw said that rather than Ian, he will prefer to take the advice from his younger brother Greg Chappell.
"Chappell’s not even the best player in his family, so if I’m going to take advice, I might take it from his younger brother, who I get along with very well too. GC is a legend,” the 34-year-old added.
Khawaja will lead the Bulls into battle against Western Australia in the Shield match at the Gabba on November 10, giving him another chance to strengthen his chances of getting recalled in Australia's Test lineup for the upcoming Ashes.
When asked if the Ashes selection is on his mind, the left-handed batter said that he is taking things one at a time and not looking too far ahead.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. For me, it’s concentrating on one game at a time making sure I’m doing the right things for Queensland to win games. If I do that I know things will work out,” the Aussie opener asserted.
In addition, speaking on the comeback in the Australian side, Khawaja reckoned that he is in very good space right now and he will give his full efforts wherever he plays.
“I’m in a really good spot, I have a lovely family, I have a beautiful wife, I have a beautiful daughter. I’m really enjoying my life at the moment. I’ve got a lot of things to be grateful for. I’m still enjoying playing this game. It’s nice when you’re scoring runs. Cricket’s not an easy game. There are plenty of times when you don’t score runs, and there are times when you do, so when you do you try to cash in for your team. I’d love to play for Australia, if it does happen, great, if it doesn’t, I’ll still be out there giving my 100 per cent for whoever I’m playing for, whether it’s Queensland or Thunder in the BBL, nothing changes for me,” he concluded.
The Ashes will begin from December 8. However, Cricket Australia (CA) will soon announce their squad for the series.
