The Australian batter Usman Khawaja has confirmed that he will be retiring from international cricket after the final match of The Ashes 2025/26 at Sydney.

The 39-year-old will be playing his last test with 87 caps and 6206 runs, which include 16 centuries.

Speaking to the media in the SCG press room, Usman Khawaja said, “I’ve been thinking about it, not wholly, but for a while.”

“Moving into this series, I kind of had an inkling in my head that this would be the last series.”

“I talked to Rachel (Khawaja’s wife) about it a fair bit, and I knew this was a big chance. I didn’t leave the door fully shut, because I knew there was a chance I could play on. I know (coach) Andrew McDonald, even right till the very end, when I told him a few days ago, he was still thinking about how I could get to India (in 2027).”

“I’m glad I get to leave on my own terms, with a little bit of dignity, and go out at the SCG where I love. But I think the start of the series was a pretty tough time. Then going into Adelaide and not being picked initially for the game, that was probably a sign for me to say, ‘all right, it’s time to move on’.”

Usman Khawaja confirmed that he had considered retirement at several stages in the last two years, saying that he had spoken to Australia head coach Andrew McDonald about finishing the Boxing Day Test against India last summer.

“I said to him, if, at any stage right now, if you want me to retire, I will retire straight away. I have no issue. I’m not hanging on for myself,” Khawaja said. “That was the most annoying thing, because I felt people were coming at me, and I felt they were saying I was selfish for staying on. But I wasn’t staying on for myself.

“Andrew McDonald practically said, No, I want you to stay. We need you for Sri Lanka and the World Test Championship. I want you to stay on. And so I did.”

Usman Khawaja confirmed that he will continue to play in the BBL after his international retirement.

He also hoped to play in Sheffield Shield cricket for Queensland later in the summer. Making his debut against England in the final test of the 2010-11 series, he missed a two-year absence from test cricket to score twin centuries in the 2021-22 Ashes when he was recalled to replace Travis Head.

Speaking on the Cricket Australia CEO, Todd Greenberg said, “Usman has made a huge contribution to Australian cricket both through his outstanding achievements as one of our most stylish and resilient batters since his Test debut 15 years ago, and off-field, particularly through the Usman Khawaja Foundation.”

“On behalf of Australian Cricket, I would like to thank and congratulate Usman for all he has achieved.” The final test will kick start on January 04 and 08 at Sydney Cricket GroundSydney.