Former Australian Test batter Usman Khawaja, 39, has revealed that he played all 88 of his Tests with rheumatoid arthritis, and that he kept it from every teammate he played with.
ABC News published his account on Sunday 25 October, and he spoke about it in Brisbane on Monday 26 October, The Independent reported.
He was diagnosed at 22, while playing for New South Wales, and kept the illness secret from the 2009 off-season onwards, ABC News reported.
The people he did tell were medical and coaching staff and administrators. He told not a single player, according to ABC News.
David Warner and Michael Hussey, both teammates, did not know, ABC News reported. Nor did his best friend from high school until a year before Khawaja went public in October 2026, The Independent reported.
Why He Kept It Quiet
In Brisbane, Khawaja explained why, according to The Independent: “I didn’t want anyone to use it against me. I felt like I already had all these stereotypes I was trying to beat in Australian cricket, and I didn’t want to use that as an excuse.”
The Drug That Saved His Career
“I genuinely thought I was going to die,” Khawaja said, according to ABC News.
He manages the condition with regular injections, which he still has, ABC News and The Independent reported. He credits the drug with getting him back about six months after the diagnosis, ABC News reported.
ABC News quotes him on what the treatment meant: “Without that drug,” he says, “I would never have played cricket ever again or even lived a normal life again.”
“It was debilitating. I took an injection last night,” he said, according to The Independent.
He says the illness contributed to the back injury he suffered late in his career, The Independent reported.
The Career Behind the Secret
Khawaja’s Test career spanned 15 years and 88 matches, and the illness was with him for all of it.
He made his Test debut at the SCG in January 2011 as Australia’s 419th Test player, ABC News reported.
He finished with 6,229 Test runs, 16 Test centuries and two ODI centuries, and was the first Pakistani-born and first Muslim player to represent Australia in Tests, according to ABC News.
His final Test was at the SCG on 8 January 2026, as Australia completed an Ashes series win, ABC News reported. Buzzline covered that series, including the MCG Ashes Test that raised concerns for Test cricket in December 2025.
Sabr, in His Own Words
His autobiography, Sabr, is released on 10 November. He wrote it himself, without a ghostwriter, The Independent reported.
“I didn’t think anyone could encapsulate my story like I could because no one has been through the same journey in Australian cricket like I have,” he said, according to The Independent.
His story also features on the ABC’s Australian Story program, ABC News reported.
On the field, he plays for the Brisbane Heat in the coming Big Bash season, The Independent reported.
More cricket coverage is in Buzzline’s Cricket section.
Sources: ABC News, “Usman Khawaja reveals illness he kept secret his entire Test cricket career”, 25 October 2026 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-25/cricketer-usman-khawaja-reveals-debilitating-illness/107163852); The Independent, “Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja reveals secret battle with rheumatoid arthritis”, 26 October 2026 (https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/cricket/usman-khawaja-arthritis-australia-cricket-b3073227.html)
Photo: davidmolloyphotography.com, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Usman Khawaja raises his bat and helmet after reaching a Test century in November 2016.
