Usman Khawaja's replacements in Australia Test squad after retirement

Usman Khawaja (L) and Travis Head (R) (Source: AFP)

In what is a significant development in Australian cricket, the veteran opener Usman Khawaja called it a day on his international career on Friday. Usman Khawaja announced his decision through a 50-minute press conference at Sydney Cricket Ground ahead of the last Ashes Test.

The upcoming Sydney Test will be his last international appearance for Australia. The southpaw will be playing his career’s last game at the same SCG where it all started for him at the highest level of the game. Meanwhile, Khawaja’s retirement has also left the Aussie management to pick a replacement for him in the Test squad. 

Hence, the Aussie management could bet on three in-form batters who are currently in position to replace Khawaja in the Test squad. A strong replacement for Australia is also crucial, given their nine Tests on the 2026 roster starting in August

Tim Ward 

Making an impact with his impressive performances in the Sheffield Shield 2025, Tim Ward was the leading run-scorer in the tournament. He scored 443 runs in 11 innings, with an average of 40.27, hitting a century and two half-centuries while batting in the top order for Tasmania. ​

Ward has some impactful credentials to his name at the top of the batting order. He can be considered as one of the perfect replacements for Usman Khawaja as an opener in Tests. The 27-year-old also seems to have a lot of active years to serve as Australia’s Test opener for the next seven to eight years. ​

Speaking of his overall First-Class career, the Tasmania southpaw has scored 2,722 runs in 81 innings of the 44 games he has played. In these appearances, he has registered an average of 35.35, hitting three centuries and 20 half-centuries. ​

Matt Renshaw

The in-form Queensland opener Matt Renshaw is currently the leading run-scorer for his side in the Sheffield Shield’s last edition. Besides that, he is also the fourth leading run-scorer among all teams in the tournament. The southpaw scored 425 runs in six innings, with an average of 70.83, hitting three centuries and a half-century in the premier Australian domestic tournament. ​

Apart from his prolific First-Class numbers, Renshaw also possesses an international experience of 14 Tests for Australia. In these appearances, he has delivered his best performances while opening the innings at first position. Out of his 645 Test runs in 24 innings, he has scored 458 runs in 11 innings while opening the innings for his side. ​

The 29-year-old has an average of 45.80, including a century and two half-centuries as an opener for Australia in Tests. He could be an excellent fit for the opening slot after Khawaja, considering his pedigree as a Test opener.​

Travis Head

Being the ‘talk of the town’ in the ongoing Ashes 2025-26, Travis Head is currently leading the chart of the batters with the most runs in the series. After batting in all the eight innings of the four Ashes Tests so far, Head has scored 437 runs in eight innings, with an average of 54.62, hitting two match-winning centuries. ​

Interestingly, Head has batted as an opener in seven out of his eight innings in the current Ashes edition. In these seven innings, the swashbuckling southpaw has accumulated 416 runs, with an average of 59.40 and a strike rate of 85.8, alongside both of his Ashes tons as an opener. ​

If his current form as an opener is taken to the dissection table, he stands out as the first-choice Test opener for Australia in the post-Khawaja era