Thought I was going to die: Usman Khawaja kept debilitating illness a secret throughout Australia career

Usman Khawaja reveals secret battle with rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed at 22, and how treatment helped him continue playing for Australia.

Usman Khawaja, who represented Australia in 88 Tests, has revealed that he lived with rheumatoid arthritis for much of his playing career. The revelation came months after he called time on his international career. He was just 22 when he was diagnosed with the potentially debilitating disease.

Usman Khawaja called time on his international career earlier this year. (AFP)

Khawaja, 39, kept his condition a secret throughout his career, to the extent that even close friends David Warner and Michael Hussey had no idea. He said the medical and coaching staff, along with administrators, knew about the illness, but Khawaja kept it from his teammates because he did not want special treatment or risk the disease being used against him.

Speaking to the ‘Australian Story’, Khawaja said he feared his cricketing dream would end before it even began, following the diagnosis. He also believed he had a terminal illness after doctors initially struggled to determine the cause of the pain in his left knee.

“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 said, as per ABC Sport.

More power

Khawaja said he hopes that sharing his diagnosis will offer hope to others living with autoimmune diseases. He has also detailed how he battled the condition 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," he said.

The former Australian opener also revealed that he manages his condition with regular injections of a drug he described as “a godsend.”

“Without that drug. I would never have played cricket ever again or even lived a normal life again,” said Khawaja.

Khawaja scored 6,229 international runs for Australia, including 16 centuries. He also became the first Pakistan-born player to represent Australia.

His career was defined by his ability to overcome the odds. One of the most frequently dropped players in Australian Test history, Khawaja lost his place on eight occasions. One of the highlights of his career came at the age of 35, when he scored twin centuries (137 and 101 not out) in the Sydney Ashes Test in January 2022.