Left-handed batsman Usman Khawaja has joined compatriot Dan Christian in calling out the ongoing racism issues that exist in Australian cricket.
Khawaja was born in Pakistan but moved to Australia with his family when he was five.
The 33-year-old cricketer has been a key cog in Australia’s top-order, having played 93 internationals since his debut in the longest format of the game in January 2011.
The left-handed batsman revealed that he feels the perception of him as a “lazy” cricketer has been there because of his ethnicity. “I always had that ‘lazy’ undertone when I was growing up and I think part of that was my relaxed nature but part of it was also because I was Pakistani, and subcontinent people were seen as lazy, not doing the hard yards and what not,” cricketc.com.au quoted Khawaja as saying.
“Running has never been natural to me, so when we used to do lots of fitness testing I wasn’t as good
as everyone else. When you put that against where I was from, that did play against me. I like to think we’re starting to move on from that, but there’s definitely still that undertone … I still hear (similar stereotypes), if someone’s a bit different,” he added.
“The older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realised that when it comes to diversity — especially in cricket in general — I think we’ve been OK at it but we’re still just not quite there,” Khawaja opined.
Last week, Cricket Australia had launched an investigation after it was revealed that Christian was exposed to racist remarks when he spoke about the casual racism he has experienced in Australian cricket.