Former England captain Michael Vaughan has suggested that Australian opener Usman Khawaja should retire on his own terms during the upcoming fifth Test of the Ashes 2025-26. Khawaja has endured poor form in the last few years, scoring 1029 runs at an average of 31.18, with one century and three half-centuries in his last 19 Tests (36 innings).
Additionally, injury has added to his woes in the ongoing series as he suffered back spasms during the first Test in Perth, which ruled him out of the second Test in Brisbane. He finally found his place in the playing XI for the third Test, with Steve Smith sidelined due to illness. While talk of Khawaja’s retirement has gained momentum in recent times, there has been no official word from the veteran himself. With the final Ashes Test looming, Michael Vaughan suggested it Khawaja should hang up his boots on his own terms at his home ground in Sydney.
“I would tell Usman, ‘Don’t let them decide. You decide your destiny.’ When someone has been playing for so long, we have to let them decide. Usman has had an incredible career and not many people get the opportunity to say goodbye on their own terms at their own venue,” Vaughan said, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald. Vaughan also warned Khawaja that he could be forced out of the team if he does not choose to say goodbye in Sydney.
“If he doesn’t, he risks his career not ending on his own terms. I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye than on his home ground in an Ashes series. If Uzzie has the energy and the capacity to really want to fight on, yes, I could see that happening, but going out in Sydney in the Ashes sounds pretty good to me,” Vaughan added.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald revealed after the Boxing Day Test at the MCG that there have been no discussions with Khawaja about his future. The 39-year-old averaged 25.93 and 36.11 over the past two years. In 2025, he managed 614 runs in 18 innings, with one half-century and one century. He scored his only hundred of the year against Sri Lanka during the January–February 2025 tour of Australia, scoring a monumental 232 in the first innings of the opening Test.
Retiring in Sydney would be a fitting way for Khawaja to draw the curtains on his career as he made his debut at the same venue in 2011 during the Ashes series. He has played 87 Tests, 40 ODIs and nine T20Is in his career so far and has scored 8,001 runs in international cricket, including 18 centuries and 41 half-centuries. If Khawaja retires in Sydney, he will join a long list of Australian cricketers who have hung up their boots at the historic venue.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
January 1, 2026
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