Born in Pakistan, Usman Khawaja moved to Australia when he was a young boy and got closer to achieving his aim of becoming the first Muslim to play for the country when picked in the Test squad to face Pakistan in England. A fine left-handed batsman who was a national under-19 representative, Khawaja delivered on the rave reviews during his second and third seasons with New South Wales. He collected three Sheffield Shield centuries in 2009-10 in a haul of 698 runs, following a return of 554 at 42.61 the previous summer.

New South Wales were in the desperate trouble of 4 for 88 at the Gabba when Khawaja stepped in with his maiden century and he followed his 112 with 172 not out in the final game of 2008-09. Khawaja was picked for three first-class games with New South Wales in 2007-08, impressing on debut with an 85 that almost earned first-innings points. He finished the summer with a state average of 32.33 and a growing reputation, which was enhanced by 1134 runs for the Randwick Petersham club. While cricket is his love, Khawaja is also a qualified pilot.