'No indication that he will retire after Sydney Test' - Australia coach McDonald on Usman Khawaja's Test future

Australian head coach Andrew McDonald has provided an update on Usman Khawaja's Test future ahead of the fifth encounter of the ongoing Ashes. There have been a lot of speculations surrounding Khawaja's future after Cricket Australia recently provided hints of testing others for the opening slot in Tests.

McDonald admitted that he did not have any inside news about when Khawaja would hang up his boots. The former international cricketer also noted that Khawaja has done enough in 2025 to feature in the upcoming Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"He's with his family at the moment having a couple of days off. We're always having conversations about where players are at, there's no indication at my end that he's calling it in Sydney. But his performance in this calendar year has been good enough to warrant selection, so I'd say he'll be there marking centre in Sydney," stated McDonald, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

McDonald also pointed out that any long-term decision on Khawaja can wait since there is enough time in Australia's next Test assignemnt, giving the selection committee and team management to take a call on the veteran batter's future.

"I think Uz will come to us if he's going to retire, there's no doubt about that. And then after this Test match, we've got eight months until the next one, so we've got a lot of time as a selection group to make that decision. If there was a series straight off the back of this, then it would be a little bit different. But with the eight-month gap, as a selection panel, we've got a lot of time to think about our next Test team should Uz push forward," he added.

Jake Weatherald, although not having fired till now, has earned his spot at the top of the order through consistent performances in domestic cricket. Travis Head has also been pushed up top and has yielded bright results for Australia. Khwaja has scored 153 runs in five innings in this series so far.