DEDICATION: TRANSFORMED KHAWAJA REINVIGORATED AFTER SURGERY

USMAN Khawaja’s dedication to shedding 10kg has ultimately saved him from missing the first Test against India.

Australia would have been thrown into total chaos had their batting linchpin not been able to get up for the crucial summer opener in Adelaide, but had he not reinvigorated his physique, the task of bouncing back in under five weeks from knee surgery could well have proved mission impossible.

There were initial fears inside the Australian camp that Khawaja wouldn’t have enough time to recover after breaking down midway through the second Test in the UAE, but those doubts have been emphatically put to bed by the fit and firing left-hander who says he has been inspired to transform his body by NBA legend, LeBron James.

Respected Cricket Australia physiotherapist Kevin Sims helped guide Khawaja through his rehabilitation process after he twisted his knee and tore his meniscus in an innocuous throwing drill with teammates before play against Pakistan in late October.

Everything had to go right in Khawaja’s recovery for him to lead Australia’s batting line-up into battle against India, but it was the hard work done in the gym and on the training track in the months before that has made the big difference.

Khawaja has revealed he’s dropped 10kg since South Africa back in March, and Sims admits the weight-loss program has had a significant impact on his successful recovery.

“Absolutely. I think being in very good shape before the operation certainly helped him a lot when it came to the recovery afterwards,” said Sims.

“You couldn’t really afford to have any setbacks along the way if we were hoping to get them back to play a Test match.

“The Test match was six weeks post-surgery, but he didn’t feel comfortable about going into a Test match with a lack of match play.

“He wanted to play a Shield game so the goal was to try and play a match at five weeks after surgery with the Shield round we’ve just had.”