Ashes: Usman Khawaja surpasses 8000 international runs

Usman Khawaja, the seasoned Australian cricket veteran, achieved a significant personal milestone right in the middle of the intense fourth Ashes Test match held at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26.In this series, rather than taking on his usual role as an opener, Khawaja found himself batting further down the order. He wasted no time and came out swinging, hitting a few boundaries in the early overs to assert his presence. However, England's Gus Atkinson had other plans, managing to dismiss him for a commendable score of 29 off 52 balls. While he didn't secure a massive hundred this time around, Khawaja, now at the age of 39, reached an extraordinary milestone that will certainly be remembered: he became only the 19th Australian cricketer in history to surpass the impressive total of 8,000 runs in international cricket, accomplishing this feat in his 204th innings across all formats of the game.His career statistics vividly illustrate a tale of determination and resilience. In Test matches, he has amassed a staggering 6,206 runs from 87 games with an impressive average of 43.40, featuring 16 centuries and 28 half-centuries.In One Day Internationals (ODIs), he has collected 1,554 runs across 40 matches, with his last appearance occurring against South Africa back in 2019. As for T20 Internationals, Khawaja played a brief stint, featuring in nine games and scoring 241 runs.Now, he is esteemed as he shares the stage with legends like Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Allan Border, and David Warner, alongside the current stars like Steve Smith and Travis Head.