Australian test opener Usman Khawaja has spoken out against ‘unconscious’ racial bias in Down Under’s team selection.
“There’s an unconscious bias,” Khawaja told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. I pick a white cricketer just because he has a son who might look like him, and he knows it.”
Born in Pakistan, Khawaja moved to Sydney at a young age and grew up playing cricket in the eastern suburbs, especially with David Warner.
Khawaja recently returned to the top 10, moving up four spots. His 195 unbeaten run in the Sydney Test draw against South Africa propelled him to eighth place in the rankings, making him one of four Australians in the top ten of the Test batting charts, ahead of top-ranked Marnu Slavshire. New, top Smith. 2nd, Travis Head 4th.
Last month, Khawaja revealed on his Twitter that he was frequently stopped by security guards to check his ID even though he was wearing his official team gear. .
“Last year he was stopped three times while wearing an Australian uniform in my hotel and asked if Australian cricket he was on the team…” Kawaja wrote.
Khawaja is the only Muslim player to have played for Australia. Jason Gillespie and Scott Boland are the only two of his Aboriginal people to have played Test cricket in Australia.