Ashes 2025-26: Why didn’t Usman Khawaja open for Australia in Perth? – Explained

Usman Khawaja did not bat on the opening morning of the 2025-26 Ashes opener in Perth, as Australia defeated England for 172 in just 32.5 overs thanks to Mitchell Starc’s amazing seven-for. When the Australian innings began, debutant Jake Weatherald and Marnus Labuschagne were in the middle instead of Khawaja.

The veteran’s absence was due to the extended time he spent off the pitch during England’s innings, which rendered him ineligible to bat. According to ABC Sport, Khawaja was taken off the pitch near the end of England’s innings for “toilet breaks and stretching”.

According to ICC regulations, if a player is absent from the field for an extended period of time, they are not permitted to bat until they have served the comparable amount of time on the field after their team has begun to bat. Khawaja’s absence from the field was prolonged enough to deny him a chance to start or even come out at No.3 when a Jofra Archer snorter sent Weatherald back for a duck on the second ball of Australia’s response, with Steve Smith replacing Labuschagne.

ICC regulation for Usman Khawaja’s situation

As per ICC rule: 24.2.3: If a player is absent from the field for longer than 8 minutes, the following restrictions shall apply to their future participation in the match:

Additionally, 24.2.3.2 states that: The player shall not be permitted to bat in the match until his team’s batting innings has been in progress for the length of playing time that is equal to the unexpired Penalty time carried forward from the previous innings. However, once his side has lost five wickets in its batting innings, he may bat immediately. If any unexpired penalty time remains at the end of that batting innings, it is carried forward to the next and subsequent innings of the match.

Speaking of the match, Starc’s exceptional seven-for dismantled England as they were folded for an unimposing total after opting to bat first. Starc bagged a career-best 7 for 58, including the dismissals of openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett as well as England’s mainstay Joe Root.