For Usman Khawaja, the next chapter is about the team, not himself

Sam Konstas had already hit Matt Kuhnemann over the ropes on two occasions in the space of three deliveries he'd faced from the left-arm spinner. Once over his head to the right of the sight-screen, and once more in the direction of a wide long-on. And he seemed very pleased with himself on Monday morning at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Only for Usman Khawaja to walk down the pitch from the other end and have a word with his soon-to-be Test opening partner. It didn't seem like a technical chat from a distance but more to do with getting his teenaged teammate to probably take it a bit easy and not charge at every ball. Konstas seemed to get it too. Waiting for a few more deliveries before finishing his session by launching into a slog sweep off Kuhnemann that impressed him so much, he responded by raising his arms in victory. But by this time Khawaja had finished his first stint in the nets and walked back to the practice area at the back.

The 38-year-old veteran had by then also done what he is keenest on doing in this next chapter as a Test cricketer for Australia. To be a mentor, a guide, a voice of reason for the man half his age who he'll be facing the new-ball with come Wednesday. Not just this week but for the next few months as Australia enter a slow stage of transition in the lead-up to the Ashes. One of the key reasons why Khawaja, as he tells Cricbuzzin this interview, feels that the rest of his Test career would be to play with the pure intention of what he can contribute to the Australian team.

"I'm not here for myself anymore. I'm here for the team. I could have stopped playing two years ago really. But I found that I was still contributing, still trying to be the best player for the team at that opening spot, trying to do what I can do, that hasn't changed for me. When it does, you guys will surely find out," says Khawaja sitting in the lobby of the team hotel in Barbados.

"I'm very attuned to whatever is best for the team. That is what I'm trying to do. For me I feel like I have plenty to give still. To be honest, plenty to give young Sam Konstas too opening the batting. To help Sammy along through his journey, trying to impart as much knowledge as I can. I won't be around forever. But it's very important that I can do whatever I can to guide him through," he adds.

Khawaja did get an early taste of what it's like to be at the other end of Konstas in Test cricket during the youngster's blistering start to his career at the MCG. While it was a good initiation, the senior partner feels like he still has a lot to learn about Konstas on and off the field, even if he's glad to have someone who he's confident is going to be there for a while at the top of the order.

"I've been through a lot in my life, a lot of ups and downs. Luckily enough, I've also got to play with some of the greats of the game. I started playing with Ricky Ponting, and Michael Hussey and Shane Watson and Michael Clarke and these guys. There are lots of things I've seen throughout my career and most of them are not technical. More mind-set things. If I can help Sammy through this journey, especially over the next couple of series, try and impart as much knowledge as I can to him. Looking forward. It's something I haven't done before," says Khawaja.

Having had to share the opening slot with multiple partners of late since the retirement of David Warner early last year, Khawaja acknowledges the need for stability at the top. He speaks about the rapport he'd shared with Warner in the two years they've opened the batting together. And how important that relationship is in order to create the stability that Andrew McDonald and the selectors are hoping for.

"I knew what made him (Warner) tick. I knew where he was looking to score runs, knew what was going on. When you learn that, you can actually have a really cohesive partnership. I knew when and where he was going to drop and run a quick single, and I was ready for it," explains Khawaja.

"It'll be tough to chop and change, and opening is a tough place as we said. Mentally it can be very tough. Going out there against the new-ball and sometimes just getting a good ball. There were some condition-based changes, like in Sri Lanka, the summer and the WTC final. I think Andrew McDonald and the team want more stability at the top, have guys go out there and get going. We have big series coming up, this one and a massive Ashes series after that."

Unlike the clarity with which he speaks about what he's got left to give for Australian cricket, Khawaja isn't still clear about how long he has left to continue giving it. He doesn't buy into the notion that he's not playing against seam bowling with the same confidence in recent months as we were used to with him.

"I've scored a lot of runs over the last two years, top-scored in the last two WTC cycles for Australia while opening the batting and faced a lot of seam bowling. I understand I'm 38 years old. People will be looking for an excuse. I think I've got a role to play," he says in response to his critics.

Khawaja also refuses to bite into suggestions that the Sydney Ashes Test in early 2026 would be the ideal setting for him to hang up his boots. Even when you paint the perfect picture of him scoring the winning Ashes runs in front of his family and friends on his original home-ground. Like he's been for a while, Khawaja's response is a 'wait and see'.

"I've talked to Andrew McDonald that the next two big series are very big for us. With new players coming in, Konstas, Greeney and there's a bit of a transition starting to happen to the future. I'll play this series, hopefully do well and play the next series and do well, we win, we finish up and there's always a conversation going on. I'm not the guy who's going 'I want to play for another 10 years'. We'll cross the bridge when it comes," he says, sitting less than 15 minutes away from Bridgetown.