Usman Khawaja will become Australia’s oldest Test cricketer in over two decades this summer as the veteran opener prepares for his 18th season of professional cricket.

The Queenslander, who turns 38 this December, will barring injury become the nation’s oldest Test cricketer since former captain Steve Waugh. Before Tugga, the previous Australian to play Test cricket after celebrating their 38th birthday was the legendary Allan Border.

Khawaja, the reigning ICC Test Cricketer of the Year, thought his international career was over after being dropped ahead of the 2019/20 summer.

However, the left-hander has been the Australian Test side’s leading run-scorer since his fortuitous recall during the 2021/22 Ashes series, accumulating 2564 runs at 53.41 with seven hundreds – only England’s Joe Root has managed more runs during that period.

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Khawaja believes he “definitely” would have retired years ago if not for the “chilled, relaxed environment” created by national coach Andrew McDonald and Test captain Pat Cummins.

While he previously felt disillusioned by the national team’s approach to training, Khawaja applauded the current coaching staff for respecting his needs as an athlete entering the twilight of their playing career.

Curating a personalised training regimen has allowed Khawaja to produce his best cricket at an age where others have tapered off.

“Playing cricket for Australia is very stressful,” Khawaja told Fox Cricket last month.

“There were a lot of boxes that I had to feel like I had to tick, not necessarily making me a better cricketer. We just had to do it because that’s what we had to do.

“There were a lot of things we did in terms of getting ready for matches and doing warm-ups that felt a bit weird to me, it didn’t really make sense.

“When a guy’s playing at 37 compared to when a guy’s 24, they’re both going to need very different things. The way that they prepare is going to be different, what they need before a match is very different.

“It felt like for a long time everyone always did the same thing, no matter where you were in your life or in your game, or where your bodies were.

“(Cummins) will tell you, he definitely would not train as much now as you did five years ago. You can’t. You can’t burn the candle at both ends. There’s a little bit more respect for that now.

“So definitely, if it was the old way of doing it, I had to be doing everything that everyone else did, I might be like, ‘Ok, I’m done, no thank you.’

“It’s probably the reason why I’m still playing.”

Most Test runs for Australia after 35th birthday

2564 – Usman Khawaja

2554 – Steve Waugh

2473 – Allan Border

2323 – Michael Hussey

1996 – Chris Rogers

Despite everything Khawaja has achieved during his 13-year Test career, including two Ashes triumphs and a World Test Championship title, he still hasn’t featured in a successful Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign.

The Queenslander was dropped ahead of the 2011/12 whitewash, while he also wasn’t selected for the 2014/15 series, which remains Australia’s most recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph.

Ahead of what will almost certainly be his final Test series against India, Khawaja is confident Australia can end its ten-year drought against the Asian powerhouse.

“This definitely feels like one of the strongest teams we’ve had for a while,” Khawaja said.

“We’ve been playing some really good cricket, but India’s team is very good too, which is why everyone’s so excited to watch the No. 1 and No. 2 teams going at it.

“This Australian team is very settled. It’s been strong for a while.

“There’s no excuses, whoever wins is most likely the best team in the world.

“I think we’re in the best position we’ve been in a while to take India on.”

Khawaja has scored 544 Test runs against India at 34.00, while that figure drops to 28.28 on home soil.

However, the left-hander takes pride in his performance during the 2018 Perth Test against India, where he top-scored in the second innings with a gritty 72 in difficult conditions.

“That wicket was horrendous,” Khawaja laughed.

“Everyone’s just getting hit. I got hit in the nuts. (Aaron) Finch was just getting hit on his glove; he walked off the field. Guys just getting hit left, right, and centre. It was a brand new Perth wicket which wasn’t quite ready at the time.

“That’s the stuff I look back on. If I didn’t score runs there, they would have chased our total down and we would have lost.”

Usman Khawaja’s home Test batting average

74.40 vs New Zealand

58.11 vs South Africa

57.44 vs the West Indies

56.00 vs Sri Lanka

53.83 vs England

48.70 vs Pakistan

28.28 vs India

Unlike several of his Australian teammates, Khawaja enjoyed a quiet off-season that featured plenty of golf and family time. He represented the Vancouver Knights in the Global T20 Canada, but otherwise didn’t play any competitive cricket over the winter.

Having started his home summer with a half-century against Victoria in last week’s one-day match at Junction Oval, Khawaja’s focus turns towards the Sheffield Shield, which gets underway on Tuesday.

To manage his workloads, the 37-year-old expects to only play three Sheffield Shield matches before the first Test against India in late November.

Queensland will face Western Australia for its Sheffield Shield opener at the WACA from Tuesday, with the first ball scheduled for 1.30pm AEDT.