'It doesn't really change my game too much' - Usman Khawaja is not bothered about his undecided opening partner for WTC Final

Published - 09 Jun 2025, 21:52 IST | Updated - 09 Jun 2025, 21:56 IST

Usman Khawaja, one of the key players behind Australia winning the World Test Championship Cycle 2 and them making it to the final in Cycle 3, was asked about his undecided opener in the WTC 2025 Final at Lord's against South Africa, which will take place from June 11 to 15.

The Australian batter had a straightforward thought and claimed opening to be a tough job in Test cricket. Khawaja claimed that he's usually worried about the bowlers and the nature of the ball, rather than his opening partner. He felt that his opening partner might wonder the same.

"Not really, to be honest. Opening is so tough...I'm worried about how the ball is going to bowl to me and what I need to do. The opposite, whoever's opening with me is thinking exactly the same. Then we're kind of in the middle working together how we're going to blunt out this attack," said Khawaja to ICC.

The Southpaw claimed that the conversation would be to work around things that could be done to blunt down the attack, something he did as an opening partner with David Warner. However, Khawaja said that he hasn't spoken a lot to his new opening partners like Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas, with whom he has opened since the retirement of Warner in January 2024.

"It doesn't really change my game too much. If anything, the change was probably a little bit quieter without Davey. But for me, it's just about what I need to do for my team and then where I need to work with my partner while I'm out there," Khawaja added.

Australia's team for the WTC Final is likely to have Khawaja as one of the premier openers. However, for the second spot, there has been a competition between McSweeney and Konstas. The latter batted well against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, which could help him become Khawaja's partner at the Home of Cricket.