"India, meh arah hoon" - Australia's Usman Khawaja flies out for Border-Gavaskar Trophy following visa issues
Australian batter Usman Khawaja has finally boarded a plane to India ahead of the marquee Test series, which will start in Nagpur on February 9. The development comes 24 hours after Khawaja was left stranded in Sydney due to visa issues.
It emerged late on Wednesday, February 1, that the southpaw's visa issues have been resolved and that he will fly out to India on Thursday, February 2.
Khawaja took to his official Instagram handle and posted a picture of himself on the plane with the caption:
"India, meh arah hoon" (India, I'm coming).
The 36-year-old, who is a vital player for the Aussies at the top of the order, is known for playing well on the sub-continent. While he is yet to play a Test in India, the left-handed batter was instrumental in Australia's ODI series win on Indian soil four years ago, scoring 383 runs, including two centuries, in five games at an average of 76.60.
Since returning to the Test side in early 2022, he has been unstoppable and was Australia's highest run-scorer last year. His 1080 Test runs were also the third-highest in 2022 after Babar Azam's 1184 and Joe Root's 1098.
"Think that will put us in good stead" - Usman Khawaja on Australia's stability
Earlier, Khawaja reflected that past Australian teams didn't have the stability that the current squad does as he feels it's integral to winning on the sub-continent. He was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo:
"We've played a lot of games in the subcontinent. Every single player, particularly the batting, has played in the subcontinent numerous times and you take a lot from those experiences. Think the stability of this team is a big one, too.
"Every time I've gone to subcontinent I've felt like there's been a lot of chopping and changing, talked about horses for courses back in the day, it's very hard to win cricket games when that's happening in my opinion. The stability there has been for this team, at least the last year and a half, think that will put us in good stead."
An 18-player Test squad has been assembled for the Qantas Tour of India in February and March.
Congratulations to everyone selected! https://t.co/3fmCci4d9b
Australia won't be playing a practice match ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they feel it doesn't provide ideal preparation. However, the tourists will have a four-day camp in Bengaluru prior to the four-match Test series.
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