/mazaplay/media/agency_attachments/EqX62rkwonI9tRKyXUEH.png)
Follow Us/mazaplay/media/post_banners/eD7pRYnXPp0yLls9Bu2E.jpg)
Usman Khawaja (Source - Twitter)
Australian Cricket Team left for India for the upcoming four-match Test series. However, the left-handed batter Usman Khawaja had to stay back due to visa issues. Khawaja, who won the Shane Warne Test Cricketer of the Year award, has not got a visa to tour India. This is the reason why he couldn’t travel with his team.
Australian players boarded the flight to India on Tuesday after attending the award ceremony in Sydney. Usman Khawaja was seen with his team during the award ceremony, but according to the news, he did not board the flight on which Pat Cummins and Co. were coming to India.
The prolific opener shared a ‘meme’ template on his Instagram account and captioned it, “Me waiting for my Indian Visa like... #stranded #dontleaveme #standard #anytimenow”.
View this post on Instagram
Khawaja will miss the first practice session
Cricket Australia gave an update on Khawaja in a conversation with Wide World of Sports. The Australian board told that Khwaja's visa was not cleared. He will now be able to fly on Thursday for the tour of India. This means that he will not be a part of the training session of the Australian team to be held on Thursday. However, it will neither affect his nor the Australian Team’s health.
The first Test match between India and Australia is set to be played in Nagpur from 9 February. Even though Khawaja has not played any test in India till now, the way he scored 1080 runs at an average of 67.50 last year, he is an important link in his team's batting order.
The result of the four-match Test series will determine India’s fate at the Test Championship final. While Australia dominates the rankings and have secured the top spot, India are placed second and needs to win the upcoming series in order to confirm their place in the final. The Indian side lost the previous edition of the event to New Zealand in 2021 but would be hoping to turn things around this time and clinch the Test mace.