Khawaja Hopes for Warner Farewell with T20 World Cup Triumph

Usman Khawaja, the veteran Australian opener, has expressed his desire for the team to give David Warner a fitting farewell by winning the T20 World Cup. Warner, who is set to retire from international cricket after the tournament, has been in impressive form, and Khawaja believes he deserves a grand send-off.

"As a friend, I'd love to see him (Warner) finish on a high," Khawaja said. "He's been playing some really good cricket. It's been really nice to see. You can tell he's just enjoying being out there. He's playing pretty relaxed. So he should. Yeah, it would be good to see."

Despite Australia's shock defeat to Afghanistan, Khawaja remains confident in the team's ability to win the T20 World Cup for the second time since 2021. He believes that Australia has the potential to lift their game in the knockout stages.

"I think we've shown over the years that we're a great knockout team," Khawaja said. "As soon as there's a knockout situation, more times than not we've won, but we've just got to get there."

Khawaja also praised Mitchell Marsh's leadership skills, saying that his captaincy is a reflection of his personality. "I think his captaincy is just him. It's him as a person. He doesn't try to be anything that he's not. He's relaxed. He goes out and plays the game, takes the game on, leads from the front, leads by his actions. So, I've really enjoyed watching his captaincy."

While acknowledging India's strength, Khawaja believes that any team can beat anyone in T20 cricket. "I mean, India's always a threat. They have batters left, right and centre. They have great bowlers. They have excellent spinners. They have literally all bases covered. They always have," he said. "So I think on any day, any team can beat anyone, particularly in T20 cricket."

Looking ahead to Australia's upcoming series against India and the home Ashes in 2025, Khawaja termed both as pinnacle of cricketing contests. "It's always tough to beat India in India. But in the last couple of series, India has beaten Australia in Australia, which is never nice for an Australian. So, yeah, we've got a lot to play for. It's a big series. To me, England and India are the two biggest series."

Khawaja concluded by reflecting on the enduring popularity of Test cricket in Australia and the new golden ticket initiative taken by Cricket Australia. "The baggy green is still the pinnacle of Australian cricket. I think we're very lucky in Australia. I still think we get paid really well to play Test cricket. It's not the same across the world. So, it's a little bit different for us. We don't have to try as hard. Because we have a long-standing tradition. And kids that grow up these days still want to get a baggy green."

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