Usman Khawaja to miss Sheffield Shield match for personal reasons
What's the story
Australian Test opener, Usman Khawaja, has opted out of the upcoming Sheffield Shield match against South Australia.
The decision comes as a surprise as a win in this game would guarantee Queensland's place in the final.
Queensland Cricket selectors were informed by Khawaja about his unavailability and have accepted his decision.
Captain Marnus Labuschagne will lead the team after returning from his stint with Australia's ODI squad at the ICC Champions Trophy.
Player absences
Other players also unavailable for the season
Khawaja isn't the only one to opt out of crucial matches. Xavier Bartlett has also made himself unavailable for the rest of the season as he gears up to play in the IPL for Punjab Kings.
Meanwhile, Travis Head, Jake Fraser-McGurk, and Spencer Johnson from South Australia will miss out on the remainder of this season due to their IPL commitments.
Unusual absence
Khawaja's decision to skip match raises eyebrows
Khawaja's decision to skip this crucial match is especially surprising considering he is fully fit and in great form.
He played crucial knocks of 127 and an unbeaten 33 in Queensland's win over Tasmania, helping keep them in contention for the final.
Instead of playing the Shield game at Karen Rolton Oval, Khawaja has chosen a weekend trip from Brisbane to Melbourne to watch the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Career management
Khawaja's strategic scheduling for longevity in cricket
The 38-year-old cricketer has been smartly handling his schedule over the last few years, choosing rest over play. This helps keep him mentally and physically ready for Tests while prolonging his career as much as possible.
Both Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket have backed this management.
Khawaja missed one of Queensland's first four Shield games to prepare for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
He also missed a match against Western Australia after a Sri Lanka tour where he scored a career-best 232 not out in the first Test.
Performance overview
Khawaja's impressive summer performance and future schedule
Khawaja has already played 11 FC matches this summer, including seven Tests.
That's more games and days than any Australian domestic red-ball only batter would play in a Shield summer.
He also led Queensland to a Shield title back in 2021.
After the Shield season ends in late March, Khawaja will have all of April and May to rest, before gearing up for four Tests in June and July including the WTC final and a three-Test tour of the Caribbean.
Team preparation
Queensland players prepare for upcoming match in Adelaide
In other news, Khawaja's Queensland teammates have flown to Adelaide ahead of the match against South Australia.
The squad took this step to get an extra day of training on Thursday, as heavy rain due to Cyclone Alfred prevented them from training all week.
Meanwhile, Scott Boland has been ruled out from Victoria's must-win match against WA at the WACA ground due to knee soreness after a loss to South Australia.
Runs
A look at Khawaja's FC stats
Khawaja's 127 and 33* saw him get to 14,976 runs in FC cricket at 44.83 from 214 matches (371 innings).
Khawaja now owns 43 tons and 71 fifties in the longest format. Notably, 5,930 of his FC runs have come for Australia in Test cricket at 45.61 with the help of 16 tons and 27 fifties. He has appeared in 80 Tests.