Australia’s opening batsman, Usman Khawaja, won the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award for the year 2023 . He won the award ahead of teammates Travis Head, India’s spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, and England’s star batsman Joe Root. Khawaja’s outstanding performance saw him amass 1210 runs in just 13 matches in the year 2023, maintaining his excellent form from the previous year. Additionally, his contributions played a crucial role in Australia’s historic triumph as they secured their first-ever ICC World Test Championship title in England against India last year.

With this accolade, Khawaja joins an illustrious list of Australian cricketers who have received the Test Cricketer of the Year award. He becomes the sixth Aussie to achieve this honour, following in the footsteps of Ricky Ponting (2006), Michael Clarke (2013), Mitchell Johnson (2014), Steve Smith (2015), and Pat Cummins (2019).

Khawaja’s Performance In 2023

In 2023, Usman Khawaja had an outstanding year in Test cricket. He began the year with a remarkable unbeaten innings of 195 against South Africa, marking the start of a period of consistent high-scoring performances. Then during Australia’s challenging tour of India, Khawaja showcased his batting prowess by emerging as the leading run-scorer in the series. He accumulated a total of 333 runs in four matches, including a century in Ahmedabad and two half-centuries.

While facing setbacks in the World Test Championship Final against India, Khawaja displayed resilience during the Ashes series against England in England. He emerged as the series’ top scorer, amassing an impressive 496 runs and playing a crucial role in Australia’s success at drawing the series and reclaiming the Ashes.

Khawaja concluded the year with noteworthy contributions against Pakistan, each innings surpassing the 40-run mark. His cumulative run total for the year reached an impressive 1210, making him the only batsman to surpass the thousand-run milestone in Test cricket for the year 2023. Khawaja finished 2023 at a brilliant average of 52.60.