Langer: Khawaja will be fit for India opener
Australian coach admits to team’s recent failings with the bat
Australia coach Justin Langer is hopeful Usman Khawaja will be fit to face India in the first Test in early December despite the top order batsman undergoing knee surgery yesterday.
Khawaja’s batting was one of the few bright spots in Australia’s first Test series since the suspension of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft — a 1-0 loss to Pakistan in the UAE.
The 31-year-old scored 85 and 141 in the drawn first Test before injuring his knee while training during the second Test loss, putting in doubt his participation in the fourmatch home series against the top-ranked Indian tourists.
His loss for even part of the series would be a huge blow to a team already missing so much batting experience because of the Cape Town balltampering scandal but Langer said yesterday he had some grounds for optimism.
“My understanding is that he had surgery this morning, so I haven’t heard the results yet,” Langer told Melbourne’s SEN radio. “But hopefully, some of my messages yesterday were that he might be up for the (Sheffield) Shield game before the first Test match, which would be a real bonus for us.”
While Australians will be confident about their bowling for the India series, the batting looked fragile against Pakistan and local pundits have suggested that, in the absence of Khawaja, the top six spots in the order would be up for grabs.
Former Test opener Langer said he thought Khawaja, opener Aaron Finch and allrounder Marnus Labuschagne had enjoyed good series but accepted that positions in the top order were open.
“When you continue to bat like we are batting in Australian cricket at the moment, it’s always open,” Langer said.