Khawaja's form demands recall: Waugh

Selector Mark Waugh believes batsman Usman Khawaja will return to the Australia XI for the Boxing Day Test match against the West Indies if fully recovered from a hamstring injury.

Speaking on Fox Sport’s Inside Cricket program on Wednesday night, Waugh said no final decisions had been made by the National Selection Panel, but he personally felt Khawaja’s form prior to his injury made a strong case for his immediate recall.

"If Usman is fit, assuming he is, he’s got to come back in,” Waugh said.

"That’s not nailed down, but he has two hundreds in his last two Test matches, so you’d imagine he comes back in."

Quick single: Khawaja back for Boxing Day says Ponting

Should Khawaja successfully prove his fitness when he lines up for the Sydney Thunder in the KFC Big Bash League on Sunday, selectors then face the choice to stick or twist with an opener to partner David Warner.

"So it’s probably a shootout between Joe Burns and Shaun Marsh," Waugh said.

"Someone will be very unlucky, but it’s a good position to be in, we’ve got lots of good players there now scoring runs.

"It’s going to be tough on one of those guys."

Khawaja will play for the first time since tearing his hamstring during the WACA Test last month when he takes on the Melbourne Stars at the MCG, and has been warned by Bupa Support Team coach Darren Lehmann that he will need to be 'sharp' to reclaim his place.

The 28-year-old has been named in the 13-man Test squad for the Boxing Day clash with the West Indies at the MCG, alongside both Burns and Marsh.

Coming into the team as Khawaja's replacement, Marsh scored a composed 49 in the second innings at Adelaide to help secure victory over New Zealand and backed that up with 182 against the West Indies in Hobart in a record-breaking 449-run partnership with Adam Voges.

Quick single: Burns not worrying about Test dilemma 

Making the headache all the more difficult for selectors is the fact Burns has scored 298 runs at 42.57 this summer, including a maiden Test century at the Gabba, since being recalled to the side as a replacement for retired opener Chris Rogers.

Depending on which way Australia’s selectors go, it will leave skipper Steve Smith pondering a change to the batting order.

Should Marsh be left out, Khawaja would return to first drop, leaving Smith and Adam Voges to return to the middle-order positions they occupied in the first two Tests against New Zealand, while Burns’ exclusion would leave an opening alongside David Warner at the top of the order.

Smith, appearing alongside Waugh on Inside Cricket, said he felt Marsh was best suited to the No.5 position he occupied in Adelaide and Hobart.

"He’s done really well there and Khawaja, I think, can slot anywhere in the top three.

"Obviously it’s a big decision to make and I’ll back whatever they (the selectors) decide."

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Smith also shed light on his decision to declare at lunch on day two of the first Test in Hobart, leaving Voges unbeaten on 269.

"We play our best when we don’t think about personal milestone and try to drive the game as much as possible," Smith said.

"I spoke to Voges at lunch, he was 269, I said, ‘Do you want to have quick crack?’ but he said to just do what’s best the team. That’s the kind of guy he is, he’s great around the group and always wants the team to do well."