Usman Khawaja has declared himself 100% fit ahead of the third Test in Adelaide but conceded whether he earns a recall is out of his hands.
Khawaja missed the second Test in Brisbane after not recovering from the back spasms he suffered in Perth, saying that while he may have been able to push through had the game been later in the series it was too much of a risk early in the contest.
"Obviously hope to play," he told reporters in Adelaide. "I don't really know. Obviously, it's not my decision. The older I've got, the more comfortable I've got with things that I can control and things that I haven't. I feel really good in terms of I'm ready to go. The rest of it is not in my control. So, yeah, we'll see what happens.
"I'm feeling 100%. So unless something else [happens], but I felt 100% before Perth, too. It's just one of those things. I've done everything. That's why I was training all last week. I was just doing rehab, which sucks because when you get injured, you have to do more, right.
"I've had a fair bit of load, but it's obviously what I wanted to just get as much as possible and I'm running at 100% again and again. So everything's feeling pretty good again."
Khawaja, who turns 39 next week, went through multiple gym, running and net sessions before, during and since the Gabba Test. He added that he was being extra careful about how much he does on the day he flies into venues, conceding he had felt sore after a delayed six-hour flight to Perth, although insisted the much-talked about rounds of golf had not been a factor. "I've always been a professional," he said.
In Khawaja's absence, Travis Head and Jake Weatherald have combined to produce two impressive stands: the chase in Perth where they added 75 and the first innings in Brisbane where their 77-run partnership put England on the back foot on the second day.
But Khawaja backed himself to have a game that could adjust to various tempos, citing his Sheffield Shield form where he had a strike-rate of 62.34 in three matches which puts him just outside the top 10 from those with 200 runs this season.
"I've got gears when I want them," he said. "You've got to find a way to be consistent for a long period of time, not just over a game or two. So I've always been conscious of that. I can go out there and play more shots and I think I've been scoring pretty [quickly]. So sometimes the game and the situation dictates that [and] the wickets dictate that. I think I just play the game, what's in front of me.
The option remains for Khawaja to return in the middle order where he batted on his Test comeback in 2022. "I've always done really well batting at four or five," he said. "Normally people that open aren't as attuned to No. 5 as opening because they're not as good playing spin. But I've proven I'm one of the best players to spin in Australia. So, that's never been the issue. So I can bat anywhere."
Khawaja also joked he was somewhat unconvinced by talk that Head, who flayed an astonishing century in Perth, had "lobbied" to open the batting. "I think Travis said he'd been quietly lobbying. It was more a case of Heady always said, 'If you need me to open, I'll open'," he said.
"I had a joke with [Andrew McDonald about it], I was like, 'Quietly lobbying - that's one of the quietest lobbyings I've heard', and he had a giggle too and was like, 'Yeah'. Heady's a team player, he'll always open if they need him to open, but it's not like he was at the back knocking on doors saying, 'I want to open'."
Khawaja, who has one hundred in his last 45 Test innings and averages 31.84 since the 2023 Ashes, said talk around his position "doesn't really faze me" although when pressed on whether any of the commentary about him has an effect, he admitted it was impossible to be completely unaware.
"Certain things probably do, certain things probably don't," he said. "I genuinely don't read it. I probably get more from vibes and what other people tell me. It's not like I'm going out and reading the actual thing, it's the vibe. And some things sometimes just pop up, you can't hide from it. But yes, certain things do, certain things don't, but I just don't see the relevance in talking about it. I just don't see the point.
"As much as people sometimes want to have a crack at me, I love playing for Australia. I'm still very committed. Every game I take the same way as I took 10 years ago. I train hard, I do everything right. For me, it's more about just being a professional. People can have opinions, that's absolutely no worries to me. I can't really sit down and worry about what other people think, especially outside of the squad."
In terms of his future, Khawaja said that "I'm not here to hang around" but added the most important aspect to him was knowing he was still wanted in the team. "I could have retired two years ago," he said. "I could have retired at any time. But I'm still valued by the team. I'm still asked to be here, to play. So I'm here.
"I'm always mindful of the future, too. I always have been. I'm not here to hang around. I'm just here to enjoy my cricket. As long as I'm valued, I'm here. I'm doing my job. And I've done quite well over the last few years."