Australia went through a very tough phase following the sandpaper gate scandal in South Africa in 2018. The Kangaroos struggled against India at home and before that, they had struggled in the Middle East against Pakistan. It was during the tour of UAE against Pakistan when Coach Justin Langer and batsman Usman Khawaja had a heated exchange of words during a net session.
At a practice session prior to the first Test where Aaron Finch, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne made their Test match debuts, Langer insisted that batsmen should rotate between nets each time they were dismissed.
Usman Khawaja, who was a senior pro in the absence of Warner and Smith, did not like that particular session and voiced his opinion about the same.
“I think we were more worried about getting out than actually trying to execute better and execute well,” said Khawaja, as revealed in the Amazon Prime’s documentary The Test.
Hearing this, Langer replied, “Yeah well what happens when you get out in a game?”
Khawaja got enraged at it saying that he is not worried about getting out in the nets rather on the field.
“If I’m getting out two times in the nets, I know I’m getting out two times in the nets. I’m playing f—ing Test cricket here,” said Khawaja.
Even after all this tension and drama, Khawaja went on to play a match-defining role in the first Test, scoring 85 and 141 as Australia escaped with a draw.