3 reasons why Usman Khawaja retiring from Tests after Ashes 2025-26 is the wrong move

Veteran Australian batter Usman Khawaja announced that he will retire from international cricket after the conclusion of the 2025-26 Ashes series. The upcoming fifth Test in Sydney, scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 4, is set to be his final contest in national colors.

Khawaja's topsy-turvy Test career, which began way back in 2011, resulted in 87 appearances, where he scored 6206 runs at an average of 43.39, including 16 hundreds. He was part of the team that won the 2023 World Test Championship, and also a member of the side that made it to the finals of the event, two years later.

"I'm glad I get to leave on my own terms, with a little bit of dignity, and go out at the SCG where I love. But I think the start of the series was a pretty tough time. Then going into Adelaide and not being picked initially for the game, that was probably a sign for me to say, 'all right, it's time to move on'," Khawaja said during a press conference ahead of the Sydney Test (via ESPN Cricinfo).

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why Usman Khawaja retiring from Tests after the Ashes 2025-26 is the wrong move.

#1 Australia do not have a viable succession plan in place

In a sense, it is a deja vu moment for Australia, as only a couple of years ago, it was David Warner, who opted to retire during the home season. On that occasion, despite having time to plan a steady transition, unlike this occasion, the Men in Yellow had fumbled it quite badly.

Promoting Steve Smith up the order was an experiment that backfired drastically, and the lack of a long rope for both Sam Konstas and Nathan McSweeney led to Marnus Labuschagne also playing as an opener briefly

The last thing such a chaotic department needed was its one stable entity withdrawing himself. With Khawaja taking himself off the scheme of things, Australia have a massive headache on their hands.

Do they cement Travis Head as an opener and reinforce the middle order with options likes of Josh Inglis and give Jake Weatherald a long run? The other alternative is to rely entirely on the domestic setup to brandish a brand new opening pair altogether.

Neither of the two scenarios are optimal since the WTC cycle has just begun. Although Australia have a luxury of a strong start, they would have wished for more stability. From that point of view, Khawaja's presence was needed as he was one of the stable units that kept the batting core intact. With one of the pillars down, Australia have to bank on their newcomers to fire, or the old guard to take on extra load.

#2 Australia needed his services for the subcontinent-heavy second half of WTC cycle

The final arc of Khawaja's Test career, one which began with the 2021 Ashes, was notable for his much-improved ability against spin. The opener played a massive part in Australia's progress into the 2023 WTC Final, where his runs accounted for the team's wins in Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka in succession.

In the 11 Tests in the subcontinent he played since 2022, he scored 1261 runs at an average of 84, making him the best batter in the Australian side in such conditions by a mile. Given that the Men in Yellow have to tour Bangladesh and India to play a total of seven Tests in the second half of the WTC cycle, Khawaja was a much-needed asset for those assignments.

Australia have not toured Bangladesh in 11 years, and they cannot afford to underestimate them in alien conditions. Furthermore, the former Test champions' struggles against India are evident as they have not won a series there since 2004. In the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the peninsula three years back, it was Khawaja who topped the charts with 333 runs at an average of 47.57.

Given his credentials in such conditions, his replacement will find it tough to live up to such high standards, and that is the last thing Australia need during a crucial phase in the cycle where even a single negative result could cost them their place in the top two.

#3 Australia could have benefited from his versatility and experience for the remainder of the cycle

Usman Khawaja has proven to be the rescue act for Australia several times with his versatility and adaptability. Coming into the side after two years due to Travis Head's COVID-19 infection in the 2021-22 Ashes, he excelled at No.5 to score twin tons in Sydney and make a massive statement.

The southpaw then tried his hand as an opener for just the second time in the very next Test and went on to hold the spot for four more years. Even recently, during Steve Smith's absence in the third 2025-26 Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval, he returned to the middle order, and scored a crucial first innings fifty.

With challenging assignments on the horizon, Australia needed all hands on deck, including Khawaja's, where he could chip in from nearly anywhere in the batting order. But now, without him in the setup anymore, the team will be forced to turn their heads for new names and have no choice but to be patient with them.

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Edited by Gokul Nair