“There’s Subconscious Bias”: Usman Khawaja makes shocking statement on Racism in Australian team
The drama in Australian dressing room seems to have intensified after Test Opener Usman Khwaja made some strong allegations against Team selection.
Usman Khwaja smashed a brilliant 195* in the final test against South Africa. He seemed to be in sublime form, and seemed most likely to feature on the Indian tour.
However, the opener has reasons to believe that he will not be a part of the Indian tour. And he blames the mental bias of Australian selectors for the same.
Usman Khawaja on bias in selection process
In a recent interview with Sydney Morning Herald, Khawaja talked about various things. One of them that caught everyone’s attention was Khawaja not supporting Australian team in his young hood. And how he claimed the reason behind the same being the racial bias within selectors.
Usman Khawaja believes that the landscape of Australian Cricket has not changed at all. It is still the same as it was 10 years ago, when Khawaja made his debut. It is to be noted that he is the only south-asian player to have represented Australia in the history of cricket.
Hence, the player himself wanted to make change in the history. He said that he himself is working hard to change this. Khawaja told the publication:
That’s where I’m trying to work with Cricket Australia saying, ‘Look, guys … you invest a lot of money into this, but something’s not going right. You’ve been doing it for 10 years and nothing’s changed’.
Khawaja on his struggles to find a place in Australian Team
Upon being asked about the reason behind the same, Khawaja added,
“There’s subconscious bias. If you have two cricketers, one brown, one white, both the same, the white coach is going to pick the white cricketer just because he has a son that might look similar to him. It’s what’s familiar to him.”
These statements by Usman Khawaja may seem crude but they indeed are true. Insofar, Australia has not had many players of color in their squad. And Khawaja himself is one of them.
Due to this lack of diversity, Khawaja claimed that he was not picked for the team, especially when he should have been, based on his form and record in Australian colors.
Usman Khawaja was born in Pakistan and moved to Australia at a very young age. He grew up playing cricket with the likes of David Warner in the eastern Suburbs.
Khawaja made his debut in 2011, but failed to make a regular name for himself in the team. He has represented Australia in 56 tests, 40 ODIs and 9 T20Is so far. And despite a great average of 40+ in both ODIs and Tests, Khawaja has suffered to find a place in the squad.
