Ashes: Labuschagne avoids Khawaja’s selection talks, says decision ‘up to people above my pay grade’

Brisbane, Dec 1 Ahead of the second Ashes Test, Marnus Labuschagne highlighted Usman Khawaja’s sustained excellence but avoided offering an opinion on whether the veteran should be retained for this week’s pink-ball game here at The Gabba.

Despite nearing 39, Khawaja remains central to Australia’s Ashes considerations, with team insiders continuing to value his experience and reliability. Since regaining his Test spot four years ago, Khawaja has outscored every other Australian in the format and stands as the only batter in the current squad to feature in all three previous pink-ball Tests at the Gabba.

"Usman's a high-quality player. You look at his record… what he's done for Australian cricket. Especially since he's come back, he's been super consistent; he's been really the rock at the top there," Labuschagne told reporters ahead of Australia’s training session on Monday.

"There's been a lot of talk about how many opening partners he's had over his time. But I'm not a selector and whatever happens is all up to people above my pay grade and what they think is the best way for us to win the game and win this series. It's just game by game, and you work out what's your best team and how it best works for the game," he added.

Khawaja has not suggested when he plans to retire, though a farewell Test at the SCG, his childhood home ground, would offer a fitting bookend to this Ashes campaign. Labuschagne, however, stressed that sentiment cannot override strategy.

When asked about the possibility of a farewell fixture, the Aussie No.3 said, “The most important thing is the team comes first. There are different times when different people may have done that in the past.”

“He's been an amazing player - 85 tests, averaging 45 (43.56) for Australia all around the world. But, once again, it's not up to me. I don't think he needs advice. He's 38; he's been around the block a long time.

"He's got (43) first-class hundreds. The way he's gone from a number three, four and then opened the batting, and the way he's done that, he's navigated some tricky scenarios … he's just been awesome,” he added.

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