Khawaja takes key step on road to recovery

Usman Khawaja has picked up a cricket bat today for the first time since injuring his knee last summer, and remains determined to lead Australia A on their winter tour of India in July.

Khawaja was named captain of the potential-packed four-day and one-day A squads to play a series of matches against India A in July and August that will also feature a return to red-ball cricket for World Cup-winning speedster Patrick Cummins.

Khawaja had set the Matador One-Day Cup alight with Queensland and seemed on track for a big summer until he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a training drill with the Sydney Thunder just prior to the start of the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

The injury, rare in cricket, required a full knee reconstruction and ended his season. The talented and classy left-hander has stayed the course and battled hard to recover, with his eyes firmly set on leading the A tour.

"Everything is going to plan at the moment so I can't complain," Khawaja told sydneythunder.com.au.

"I've been running for four weeks now and doing straight lines at a 100%. I start doing agility training tomorrow (Thursday), nearly five months after getting injured.

"I'll be back holding a bat this week, I'm going to be doing throw downs and hopefully progress from there.

"I've been selected for the Australia A team in July, fingers crossed I will be fit for that. I feel pretty good so far and every week it's getting better."

Khawaja hit the indoor nets at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane today, and posted a video showing the left-hander is quickly regaining his touch and timing despite the long lay-off.

Khawaja, still only 28, played the last of his nine Tests during the 2013 Ashes tour. He had been in fine form for Queensland during last year's Matador Cup, scoring 523 runs at 74.71, including a top score of 166, before the injury.

The leadership role is a big incentive to make the India tour for the Islamabad-born batsman, and with new Queensland Bulls coach Phil Jaques yet to name a captain, Khawaja is seen as a contender.

"I'm keen to build on my captaincy experience and this tour will be a great opportunity to do that," he said when the squad was announced.

Australia A's four-day team could feature up to seven players with a Baggy Green already to their name. Besides Khawaja, vice-captain Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Joe Burns, Cummins, Glenn Maxwell and Stephen O'Keefe have all represented Australia in Test cricket.

Cummins last played a first-class game in July 2013, but a remodelled action after a series of back injuries saw the 21-year-old play a vital role in Australia's successful World Cup campaign.

Cummins played a solitary Test in November 2011 as an 18-year-old. He played two World Cup games, taking five wickets at 16, but Josh Hazlewood was preferred for the tournament's latter stages to partner Mitchell Starc with the new ball.

Dates for the two four-day and five one-day matches have yet to be finalised by the BCCI, with the tour reciprocating India A's visit to Brisbane and Darwin last winter which saw Mitchell Marsh push his claim as a Test allrounder with a double-century.