There’s subconscious bias, Usman Khawaja hints at racism in Australian cricket team

Usman Khawaja has been going through a fine patch of form in Test cricket recently, scoring two half-centuries and a century in his last five Tests. The cricketer played an unbeaten knock of 195 runs in the Sydney Test against South Africa and jumped to no. 8 in the latest ICC Test rankings. 

Born in Pakistan and having moved to Sydney at a very young age, the opener rose through the ranks gradually Down Under to make it to the national side. While reflecting on his journey in Australian cricket, Khawaja recently hit out at the racism in the system. 

“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,” he was quoted saying to Sydney Morning Herald. 

The batter also revealed his experience of facing racism in the country on Twitter, stating how he is used to facing suspicion at stadiums for his skin colour despite representing the Kangaroos for years. The Australian team will tour India next month for a four-match Test series and Khawaja is expected to play an important role for the visitors.