Usman Khawaja was Australia's saviour after the World Test Champions lost all the top batters on Day 2 of the first Test of the Ashes at Edgbaston in England on Saturday, June 16. His century took Australia to a score of 311-5 at stumps on Day 2 but it was what he did during the Press Conference that won a lot of hearts.
The family man brought his daughter to the press conference and revealed to the media that his daughter refused to be separated from him. He also issued a warning to the journalists and said that the time to answer questions might be limited because of her presence.
Aisha, who is the elder of Khawaja's two daughters, also asked her father about the whereabouts of her younger sister Ayla, Khawaja replied saying, "Yeah, she is not here, baby Ayla's not here. She is with Mama. We will go back soon though, okay? 2 minutes. Let me talk. Okay? I don't know how long I have been here. So, let's do this."
But the highlight of her presence was when she got bored and decided to play with one of the phones in front of her, to which Khawaja responded by promising her some playtime with his phone later.
Khawaja had already had a great day on the field, scoring an unbeaten 126 runs as he shone from the front during Australia's fightback against England. His century on Day 2 was met with a display of elation as Khawaja celebrated by roaring, sprinting around 30 yards, and throwing his bat.
"I think it was a combination of three Ashes tours in England and being dropped in two of them," Khawaja said when asked about how he reacted to his 100. I don't read the media, I genuinely do not read the media but when I'm getting sprayed by the crowd as I'm walking out there today and as I'm going to nets that I can't score runs in England," Khawaja said.
"So I guess it was just a bit more emotional than normal. I feel like I'm saying this all the time, same thing happened in India. Not that I have a point to prove but it's nice to go out there and score runs for Australia and just to show everyone that the last 10 years hasn't been a fluke."
