Usman Khawaja Picks This Star Batter As Australias Opener For Border Gavaskar Series

Australia’s opener batter Usman Khawaja opted for Travis Head as his opening colleague for the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy series. Since David Warner has announced retirement from international cricket, a void needs to be filled. Australia’s stylish batter Steve Smith did try to fill the gap but then he failed to make an impact in the limited outings at the top of the order.  According to Khawaja, Smith should bat at No. 4 against India in Tests. The left-hander reckons that Smith coming at the No. 4 position will give them the chance to defeat India.

“He’ll just probably never say it,” the opener laughed this week. 

“So I’ll say it for him. “Opening is a very important spot (but) I still think we have the best Test player of my era in the side, in Steve Smith, and his best spot has been number four. I feel like that’s his best spot. I feel like the best balance for our team is (Marnus) Labuschagne three, Smith four. For me, the number one consideration is ‘what’s best for the team?’. What order scores us the most runs? And if you look at how many runs we scored with Davey Warner in the team and Smudge batting at four, we scored a lot of runs,” Khawaja told Fox Sports.

Khawaja took the opening slot after David Warner’s retirement and has been playing averaging 28.50 in four Tests. Steve Smith, on the other hand, has played four Tests as an opener in 2024, scoring just one fifty-plus score.

“With Smudge opening, we’ve still won games, but I don’t think we’ve scored as many runs as we could’ve. And when things are in his favour,” Khawaja said.

“At the end of the day, it’s a decision for the selectors. But if you have me opening, Labuschagne three, Smith four and I feel like Travis Head might be best suited. He’s obviously been very successful opening the batting in one-day cricket and, breaking it down, I’d probably lean towards him”, he added.

Talking about Head, he has been in outstanding form as he collected 23-ball 59 in the 1st T20I against England. Head also bagged the Player of the Match award on the back of his performances in the ODI World Cup and WTC 2023 final against India.