The former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has revealed that he fought a secret battle with rheumatoid arthritis throughout his international career.
Khawaja concluded his time in an Australia shirt at the end of the Ashes in January having featured in 88 Tests and made 18 international hundreds.
The left-hander’s success came despite a chronic autoimmune condition first diagnosed when he was 22, though only a select number of medical staff and administrators were made aware – with Khawaja keeping it secret from his teammates and friends.
“It was debilitating. I took an injection last night,” Khawaja said in Brisbane as he prepares to release his autobiography. “It was part of the reason that I did my back at the end of my career, but I couldn’t tell anyone.
“I never got injured before I had my arthritic illness, but after that I got injured quite a lot and had to find a way to get my body in the right spot. Even my best friend from high school, Ardil, didn’t know until one year ago.
“I didn’t want anyone to use it against me. I felt like I already had all these stereotypes I was trying to beat in Australian cricket, and I didn’t want to use that as an excuse.”
Khawaja’s autobiography, Sabr, will be released on 10 November and chronicle his journey as the first Muslim cricketer to play internationally for Australia.
The 39-year-old, who will play for the Brisbane Heat in the upcoming edition of the Big Bash, did not engage a ghostwriter for his book, believing that only he could pen it in the right way.
“I didn’t think anyone could encapsulate my story like I could because no one has been through the same journey in Australian cricket like I have,” Khawaja explained.
“The immigrant, brown, Pakistani Muslim kid coming from overseas to play our national game is something I didn’t feel comfortable someone else writing about.”
Khawaja has met with Australia captain Pat Cummins ahead of the release, with the “Sandpaper-gate” saga in South Africa in 2018 covered within the book.
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