Michael Vaughan’s retirement advice for Usman Khawaja sparks debate ahead of Sydney Test

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has encouraged Usman Khawaja to decide his own retirement and finish his Test career on a high at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the final Ashes Test.

Usman Khawaja (Image Credit: ICC)

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has sparked headlines by suggesting that veteran Australian batter Usman Khawaja should consider retiring on his own terms following the upcoming fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Vaughan has urged the 39-year-old to take control of his future rather than allowing external speculation and selectors’ decisions to dictate the end of his career. This advice comes amid ongoing talks about whether the SCG fixture could serve as a fitting farewell for one of Australia’s most experienced Test players.

Khawaja’s Test career has been one of longevity and resilience. With more than a decade representing Australia at the highest level, he has become one of the team’s most dependable batsmen in both home and overseas conditions. However, his form in the recent series hasn;t been great where he has scored 614 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 36.11 with a hundred and a fifty to his name.

“Usman has had an incredible career and not many get the chance to say goodbye on their own terms at their own venue. If he doesn’t do that, he runs the risk of his career ending not on his own terms. I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye than at his home ground in an Ashes series,” said Vaughan speaking in the Stick to Cricket podcast.

ICC give one demerit point to MCG after 4th Test

The fourth Test match between Australia and England ended in two days as the bowlers were on fire throughout. On the first day, 20 wickets fell and batting was extremely difficult. England won the match by four wickets, which was also their first victory of the series. Australia have played some quality cricket throughout the series, winning by 3-1.

After the game, match referee Jeff Crowe rated the pitch 'unsatisfactory' as it had no support for the batters. The balance was missing and it favored the bowlers mostly. Hence, ICC handed one demerit point to the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

If a venue receives six demerit points across a five-year period it is suspended from hosting international cricket for 12 months. The Cricket Australia (CA) will have to careful from next time before going forward with these kind of pitches in the future.

Where to watch Australia vs England match?

Cricket fans in India can watch the Australia vs England match from January 4 online on JioHotstar, via OTTplay Premium.

Also read: Former India bowler blames Test series loss against SA on Kohli-Rohit transition, makes eye-opening claim

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