‘Thought I was going to die’: Khawaja lifts lid on devastating diagnosis
Australian cricket great Usman Khawaja has revealed a debilitating medical condition which he kept secret for his entire sporting career.
The 39-year-old retired from cricket following last summer’s Ashes series.
Usman Khawaja. Getty
He played 88 Test matches for Australia, despite being axed from the side eight times, and scored 6229 runs at 43.00.
He also broke new ground as the first Pakistan-born and first Muslim person to represent Australia in cricket.
But he did it all after receiving a devastating diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 22.
“I genuinely thought I was going to die,” Khawaja told ABC’s Australian Story on Monday night.
“I went from this athlete who was playing professional cricket to not being able to walk 10 metres to the bathroom.”
Khawaja is on media street promoting his autobiography, which will be released on November 10.
He also spoke in Brisbane on Monday and explained how he managed to keep his condition a secret, aside from a select few Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia staff who helped him manage it.
“It was debilitating. I took an injection last night,” Khawaja said via AAP.
“It was part of the reason that I did my back at the end of my career, but I couldn’t tell anyone. I never got injured before I had my arthritic illness, but after that I got injured quite a lot and had to find a way to get my body in the right spot. Even my best friend from high school, Ardil, didn’t know until one year ago.
“I didn’t want anyone to use it against me… I felt like I already had all these stereotypes I was trying to beat in Australian cricket, and I didn’t want to use that as an excuse.”
Khawaja’s book is also expected to touch on the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, with current Test captain Pat Cummins telling his former teammate to “tell your story” after being given a heads-up earlier this month.
