BBL 2021-22: Usman Khawaja appointed as the new skipper of Sydney Thunder

The 11^th edition of Big Bash League is all set to get underway in December and in the latest turn of events, Sydney Thunder have announced their new skipper. Hometown cricketer Usman Khawaja has been named as the new skipper of Thunder after taking the responsibilities from Callum Ferguson. The Pakistan-born cricketer is quite happy about the new roles and added that he has immense love for Western Sydney, where he grew up.

It has to be noted that Khawaja is the current skipper of Queensland who are the reigning champions of Sheffield Shield, and plays for Australia across all the formats. He has been with the club since the inception of BBL and stands as the highest-run scorer of the club ever. Being their longest-serving player, the club decided to hand him over the charge for their new season.

“It’s a great privilege to be captain of any team, but for me especially being captain of Sydney Thunder probably means a little more. I grew up in Western Sydney, about ten minutes from where the Thunder play at Sydney Showground Stadium, and even though I now live in Queensland I have never forgotten where I come from.

“The majority of my close friends are from Western Sydney and I have that strong emotional connection with the club and the region. It’s very close to my heart,” said Khwaja as quoted by Sydney Thunder’s official website.

Cal was awesome as a bloke and teammate, says Usman Khawaja

While taking up the charge, Khawaja didn’t forget to pay his respect to the former skipper of the club, Ferguson, and added that his template of leading the team wouldn’t be very different from the earlier one. The new skipper added that Ferguson was awesome as a teammate and will be missed by all the members of the group for sure.

“Cal was awesome as a bloke and teammate – he will be missed amongst the group here for sure. I never change who I am just because I am the captain. I am usually a bit of a jokester around the team and that doesn’t change as a captain. I know when to deliver a message that is serious and when we can be a little more relaxed. For me it’s business as usual,” Khawaja concluded.