Queensland Cricket's peace talks with Usman Khawaja lead to new contract after 'inflammatory' stand-off
Usman Khawaja has committed his future to Queensland Cricket, despite his public fallout with head of elite cricket, Joe Dawes.
Khawaja and Dawes were involved in a spat through the media after the Australian opener didn't play the final match of the Sheffield Shield season.
The reason behind Khawaja's unavailability was injury, which came to light when Dawes said the medical staff at Queensland had no idea about the hamstring injury.
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Khawaja denied that in the lead up to the Sheffield Shield final, describing the comments as "inflammatory".
Usman Khawaja after scoring a century for Queensland. Getty
However, Khawaja has since been included on the contract list.
Peace talks between the two were forecasted by CEO Terry Svenson in late March.
Queensland Cricket confirmed that Svenson spoke to both Khawaja and Dawes individually in April.
Khawaja, Xavier Bartlett and Marnus Labuschagne are the three Cricket Australia contracted players on the list.
In Queensland's list, pace bowlers Tom Whitney and Tom Straker have been elevated from the rookie list to full contracts.
Three players have been omitted with Liam Guthrie signing for Northamptonshire while Bryce Street and Connor Sully have been axed.
Bryce Street has missed out on a contract for Queensland. Getty
Dawes praised the contribution of those three players.
"We wish Liam all the best at Northants under Darren Lehmann and will stay close to Bryce and Connor as they tackle new challenges,'' he said.
"The Bulls have plenty of incentives to build on their improvement last season, and we will back the squad to convert that potential into trophies in the coming seasons.
"We're excited about what lies ahead and look forward to improving as individuals and as a squad in the first class and one day competitions."
2025-26 Queensland Bulls squad
Cricket Australia Contracted: Xavier Bartlett, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne.
Queensland Contracted: Max Bryant, Hugo Burdon, Jack Clayton, Lachlan Hearne, Angus Lovell, Ben McDermott, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Jack Sinfield, Mark Steketee, Tom Straker, Mitch Swepson, Callum Vidler, Hugh Weibgen, Tom Whitney, Jack Wildermuth.
Queensland Rookie Contracted: Lachy Aitken, Tom Balkin, Jem Ryan.
