'That Was Unfair': Steve Smith Breaks Silence On Usman Khawaja's Claims Of 'Racial Stereotyping' Ahead Of Fifth Ashes Test

The fifth and the final Test match of The Ashes 2025 will be played from January 4, 2025, at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Aussies have already won The Ashes and are leading the series with an unassailable lead of 3-1. Labelled by English pundits as one of the weakest Australian teams to play The Ashes, Steve Smith and co. defeated England in 11 days and outplayed them in all departments of the game, especially batting.

Australia opener Usman Khawaja announced his retirement prior to the fifth Ashes Test, but it was his claims of 'racial stereotyping' in his retirement speech that grabbed eyeballs and hogged the limelight. Khawaja had made his Test debut back in 2011 and had played his first Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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Steve Smith Addresses Khawaja's Claims Of 'Racial Stereotyping'

Steve Smith addressed a couple of issues prior to the fifth Ashes Test. Smith also downplayed the rumours of his own retirement and said that he is taking one day at a time and taking things day-by-day and series-by-series. The Australia skipper was also asked about Usman Khawaja's claims about 'racial stereotyping' while announcing his international retirement.

'I'm not going into the mind of Usman Khawaja. I think he's always prepared the same way, he's worked hard and I think some of the stuff around him getting injured when he played golf the day before the game, that was unfair. He's done that for 15 years and had a pretty good career,' said Smith while speaking ahead of the fifth and the final Ashes Test.

ALSO READ | 'Everyone Went At My Credibility': Usman Khawaja Highlights 'Racial Overtones' In His Criticism While Announcing Retirement

Steve Smith Remains Tight-Lipped On Australia's Combination

The last Ashes Test match is nothing but a dead rubber for Australia as they have already clinched The Ashes. Smith was asked about Australia's preferred playing combination to which he said that the management will only decide about the playing XI once they see the surface.