Former Australian batter Usman Khawaja was just 22 years old when he received a diagnosis that threatened to end his cricket career before it truly began. Playing for New South Wales at the time, the young cricketer learned he had rheumatoid arthritis, a potentially crippling autoimmune disease. He made the extraordinary decision to keep this secret throughout his entire international career, revealing the truth only now, after stepping away from the sport following Australia's Ashes victory in January.
Khawaja played 88 Tests for Australia, accumulating 6,229 runs with 16 centuries, and added two ODI centuries to his record. He became the first Pakistani-born player to represent Australia in Test cricket and the first Muslim to do so. Despite being dropped from the Australian Test team on eight separate occasions, he repeatedly fought his way back into the squad, most memorably scoring twin centuries in Sydney during 2022 at the age of 35.
"I genuinely thought I was going to die. I went from this athlete who was playing professional cricket to not being able to walk 10 metres to the bathroom," Khawaja told Australian Story.
Why did Khawaja keep his diagnosis secret?
Doctors initially battled to diagnose the cause of debilitating pain in his left knee, leaving Khawaja fearing the worst during those early months after the 2009 off-season diagnosis. The extent of his privacy around the condition was remarkable. He informed medical staff, coaching personnel, and cricket administrators about his diagnosis, but deliberately kept it from every single player in the team. His reasoning was clear: he did not want to receive special treatment or have his illness used as a weapon against him by opponents or critics.
Managing the condition required ongoing medical intervention. Khawaja credits regular injections of a medication he describes as a godsend with enabling his return to competitive cricket approximately six months after his diagnosis. The drug proved transformative for his quality of life and career prospects. Without that drug, Khawaja explained, I would never have played cricket ever again or even lived a normal life again.
Even close associates remained unaware of his struggle. Childhood cricket friend David Warner and Test teammate Michael Hussey, both prominent figures in Australian cricket, had no knowledge of Khawaja's health battle throughout their years together in the sport. Now, keen to give hope to those living with autoimmune disease, Khawaja is detailing his health battle in his soon-to-be-released autobiography, Sabr.
If a person can play at the top level as a professional cricketer with rheumatoid arthritis, then I think a lot of other people can achieve a lot, too, Khawaja said.
"If a person can play at the top level … as a professional cricketer with rheumatoid arthritis, then I think a lot of other people can achieve a lot, too," he concluded.
