Former Australian paceman Jason Gillespie said that he experienced “a tinge of disappointment” watching Usman Khawaja’s press conference on Friday, where he announced he would retire after the fifth and final Ashes Test at Sydney. Gillespie referenced the criticism from some quarters surrounding Khawaja’s golf hit prior to the Ashes opener at Perth as being valid.
“I’m not questioning the racism that Usman has faced throughout his life,” he told ABC Sport.
“I’ve actually always admired him and applauded him for speaking up because racism is a big stain on our society, and it always needs to be called out. He referenced racism when he was talking about the criticism that he received. A few former players came out and quite rightly questioned whether that [playing golf] was the best possible preparation.”
“Being questioned over that and being held to account over your choices, that’s not bullying, it’s not abuse, that’s all part and parcel of being a professional. You can’t really throw a temper tantrum when asked to take accountability for the job you’re actually paid to do, “ he added.
The former Australian fast bowler said that he wasn’t aware of any media house that had referred to Khawaja as ‘lazy’, so he didn’t know where the southpaw read about it.
“I think the media in this space have been very consistent throughout this Ashes series. They’ve consistently questioned the preparation of the England side. I don’t see how that’s been any different.”
“Usman also referenced that he’s been called lazy his whole life. I haven’t seen anything in the media that’s been said or written by anyone that’s referenced Usman being lazy, so I’m not sure where that’s come from,” Gillespie said.
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The 39-year-old had criticised the amount of talk surrounding his preparation for the series opener at Perth, adding that there was something personal about those comments.
“I could have copped it for two days, but I copped it for five days straight. It wasn’t even about my performances; it was about something very personal. It was about my preparation.”
“The way that everyone came at me about my preparation was quite personal in terms of things like: ‘He’s not committed to the team, he was only worried about himself, he played this golf comp the day before, he’s selfish, he doesn’t train hard enough, he’s lazy. “I thought we were past that, but there’s still a little out there which I have to fight every single day. I can give you a countless number of guys who have played golf the day before a match and have been injured, but you guys haven’t said a thing,” he said.
