Darren Lehmann expects Usman Khawaja to regain place in national setup

Young Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has been axed from the national squad for the third Test against India for not complying team orders. He and a few other players such as Shane Watson and James Pattinson were asked to prepare a special presentation
by coach Mickey Arthur, but none of these players did so.

As a result, the team management took serious action, and dropped all these players from the squad for the third Test. Usman Khawaja was particularly the biggest victim, as he was highly likely to play the third game after an embarrassing show by the Aussie
top-order in the opening two encounters.

His state coach, Lehmann however expects the left-hander to regain his place very soon. He called his axing a disappointing incident, but expressed hope that the left-handed batsman is going to make it back very soon.

"(It’s) disappointing for Uz. I texted him last night just to make sure he’s ok. He’s disappointed but he’s going to get on with it and train hard and try and get back in the side," Lehmann, who coaches Queensland Bulls where Khawaja plays, said.

"(It’s) disappointing for Australian cricket as a whole. At the end of the day, we need to be pulling in the right direction and getting back in the Test series. It’s not an ideal scenario for anyone involved," Lehmann said.

The batting department has been Australia’s biggest worry so far on the tour. The batsmen were particularly terrible in the second game when the entire side collapsed on 131 in the second innings. As a result, a huge defeat came to their way.

The axing of a few crucial players has surely dented Australia’s chances to bounce back in the series. When Lehmann was asked to share his opinion on the incident, he rather decided to stay quiet, saying that it is not a good idea to make a remark without
knowing the entire story.

"I’m not privy to what’s happened behind the scenes, so it’s pretty hard to comment from afar. Would I have handled things differently? Maybe I would. But the coach and the captain have made the decision.

"I think it’s an over-reaction to a certain extent. (The Bulls are) a bit old school. That’s just the way we do it. But everyone has their methods. There’s no right or wrong method," he said.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Mar 12 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry