“As batsmen, we need to adapt a bit,” Khawaja replies to Gilchrist and Symonds

Khawaja replies to Gilchrist and Symonds: The Australian southpaw laid emphasis on adaptability in the modern game.

During a commentary stint in the first T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of Australia at Brisbane, Australia opening batsman Usman Khawaja found himself in a bit of a quarrel with former Australian cricketers such as Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.

It all started with the retired duo talking about how the contemporary game has changed and that classic cricket is all but ‘over’. Apparently, all this was said post some of the batsmen played unorthodox shots during the match.

Playing such shots is more of a necessity in the modern game for not every batsman is talented enough to play every ball on its merit, especially in the T20 format. Therefore, in a bid to stand tall on the ever-increasing demand of pumping up the run rate, batsmen tend to indulge in altering their shot selection.

Khawaja, who belongs to the current generation, made sure that he discloses the reasons why batsmen no longer rely on conventional strokes. The 31-year old cricketer was of the opinion that with the bowlers getting better, batsmen have no option but to get inventive.

“We do play different shots now. The bowlers are getting better. As batsmen, we need to adapt a bit. A lot of old traditionalists don’t like the reverse sweeps, the paddles, but sometimes, they’re little risks you have to take to bring in those classic cricket shots. Sometimes it does look ugly when it doesn’t come but when it does everybody loves it and that’s the entertainment of T20 cricket,” Khawaja said.

Khawaja was kind enough to state that he doesn’t mean ‘disrespect’ to any of the past players but with the game ‘evolving’, such things are bound to happen.

“There’s no disrespect to guys of your era who were excellent players. You can only go on what you play but the game’s evolving and unless you’re playing it and a part of it you do feel like sometimes there is a disconnect between what the players are trying to achieve and what the outside world, especially the traditionalists and the former players are seeing,” Khawaja added.

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