Usman Khawaja knows it is important to perform in the upcoming series against Bangladesh. (Source: AP)
After earning a recall to the Australian side, Usman Khawaja is focussed to prove his critics wrong and cement a place for himself in the Australian side. Pacer Mitchell Starc has also backed him to succeed and said that that the hard work he has put in will benefit in the upcoming Test series in Bangladesh. However, after being unable to find a spot for himself in the India series, Usman Khawaja now finds himself in the reckoning for the Bangladesh series and knows how important it is for him to perform.
Speaking to The Unplayable Podcast, Starc said, ” I think the whole team have copped a bit of stick about how we’ve played spin in the past and maybe ‘Uzzie’ more than most has copped a bit of it. From what I saw in that Indian series he worked a hell of a lot at it and I’m sure he did in the IPL with a few of the Indian spinners in that team working him around as well.
On the upcoming series in Bangladesh, he said, “It’s slightly different over in Bangladesh than it is in India, but I’m sure he’s going to be well equipped in this series. I know he’s worked really hard over the last 12 months, (he’s) really itching to get a game out there and no doubt he’ll be very well prepared for Bangladesh and look to put some big runs on the board. ”
Commenting on the morale of the team, Starc said, “Obviously being in a such a good position in all four Test matches and losing the series is something we can learn from and be a little bit disappointed about. But the fact we were in commanding positions in all those Tests is also a positive. We can take a lot of confidence out of the way we played those spinners at times but we weren’t able to win some of the key moments with the bat and with the ball to win that series. It’s something we’re looking to learn from in Asian series going forward.”
