MELBOURNE
\nAustralian cricketer Usman Khawaja has decided to leave the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Thunder so he can be closer to his family in Brisbane next summer.
\nKhawaja said seeking a release from his contract with the Thunder was the toughest decision of his cricket career. His wife Rachel is expecting their second child, due in April this year.
\nThe 35-year-old, who was contracted by the Thunder until the end of the next BBL season, said he wants to spend more time in the Queensland capital with his family next summer.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the toughest call I\u2019ve made as a cricketer because Sydney Thunder…mean so much to me,\u201d Khawaja said in a statement on Friday. \u201cHowever, it is for family reasons.
\n\u201cAnd while I\u2019m leaving, people who know me realise a big part of my heart will always remain with Thunder. I don\u2019t want people to think I\u2019ve cut my ties…because I\u2019ll always care about the club, the players, the entire organisation.\u201d
\nKhawaja\u2019s statement didn\u2019t specify if he wanted to continue his BBL career with the Brisbane Heat.
\nCricket NSW\u2019s head of male cricket, Michael Klinger, said Thunder had tabled a long-term contract extension to Khawaja.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing … Sydney Thunder and Cricket NSW definitely wanted him to stay and we offered a highly competitive contract,\u201d Klinger said in a statement. \u201cHowever we appreciate Usman\u2019s decision has been made for his family, and we respect and support that.\u201d
\nKhawaja returned to Australia\u2019s Test team during the 4-0 Ashes series win against England and departs this weekend for a three-Test tour of Pakistan, the country of his birth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MELBOURNE Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has decided to leave the Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Sydney Thunder so he can be closer to his family in Brisbane next summer. Khawaja said seeking a release from his contract with the Thunder was the toughest decision of his cricket career. His wife Rachel is expecting their second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-246438","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n