Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy has slammed Usman Khawaja, calling him a poor teammate and accusing him of faking the hamstring injury that ruled him out of a Sheffield Shield match last year.
Khawaja has written about his strained relationship with Healy in his autobiography, Sabr. Former Australia skipper lambasted the southpaw, saying that his criticism was because of a lack of honesty and commitment towards Queensland.
The incident happened when Khawaja was present at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne instead of playing for Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match. Khawaja said that he was unavailable because of a hamstring injury.
Healy, who is the deputy chair of Queensland Cricket, refused to accept the clarification given by Usman.
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“The one that might have broken the camel’s back was this Grand Prix one,” said Healy.
“I didn’t know at the time he was going to the Grand Prix, and neither did his (Queensland) team. He didn’t even tell the team why he wasn’t playing, right.”
Healy claimed that the medical panel of Queensland didn’t find any evidence of a hamstring injury after examining the cricketer and questioned his decision to skip the match.
“Then he claimed an injury, so I then sussed it out with all sorts of medicos in our dressing room and our head of high performance, and they denied the injury.
“They tested him structurally and functionality-wise, and they said, ‘there’s no hammy (injury), you’re right to play.’ He didn’t say that in his book.
“And then they (medicos) said, ‘but let’s get it scanned this afternoon,’ and he refused to scan. So, that’s what I was going on.”
Healy further questioned Usman Khawaja’s commitment.
“It’s a shame that he doesn’t support his team better than that, and then we found out he’s going to the Grand Prix,” Healy said.
The two have been at loggerheads for a long time, and the former wicketkeeper had also hit out at the opening batter for missing another fixture of Queensland at the Adelaide Oval just a fortnight before Australia played a Test at the same venue.
Khawaja’s decision to open up on his bond with Healy has led to the latter’s reaction, who stands by his assessment.
In 64 first-class matches for Queensland, Khawaja scored 4,317 runs at an average of 45.44. He played 55 ODIs, amassing 2,634 runs at an impressive average of 50.65.
Khawaja was Queensland’s captain from 2015 to 2024 and was one of the reasons behind their success in the 2020-21 season.