'Was told I am not the right skin colour': Usman Khawaja on racism in Australian cricket

The left-handed batsman Usman Khawaja was the first Muslim cricketer to play for Australia at the highest level when he made his debut in the 2011 Ashes series. Khawaja's good performances were crucial in inspiring many young kids especially Asians, who are in other countries and make a living out of the sport.

Khawaja came to Australia in the 1990s from Pakistan. After the recent controversy involving the England debutant Ollie Robinson following him apologising for his racist and sexist tweets during his teenage, Khawaja has revealed the ordeal he went through in his early playing days.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Khawaja said, "When I was younger in Australia, the amount of time I got told I was never going to play for Australia, I'm not the right skin colour was immense. I'd get told I don't fit the team, and they wouldn't pick me. That was the mentality, but now it's starting to shift.

Australia has a substantial population of people from the sub-continent and Khawaja's story is likely to inspire many of them to follow their dreams despite their nationality and skin colour.

"And that kept happening over and over and over again. The more that happened, I realised my background does matter, and it does make a difference. And then I realised from my childhood it probably took me a while to support Australia. I didn't really support Australia when I first went [from Pakistan] because I didn't really get it," he added.

Khwaja has played 44 Test, 40 ODI and 9 T20I matches for Australia.