I think it would be unfair for Khawaja if he had to play a couple of ODIs first when clearly the longer format is the one he is best suited to.
I'm not saying his Test inclusion should be predicated upon success in ODIs, I'd just like him to soak up some time in big stadiums and enjoy a little bit of less meaningful international cricket so it's one less thing he has to deal with mentally before he debuts in the real thing.
But then that weakens the ODI side.
Depends who he replaces, really. That said, it would have to be after the world cup, because you don't chop and change your side in the months leading up to a WC.
And what if he does that much better in his first Test because he's already done the media, knows most of the blokes and has experience playing in front of crowds with more than 50 people? I know what you're saying, but I think it's a sensible risk.
A bit unfair on the ODI set up. If you want to dismiss ODIs as less meaningful that's your opinion, but the staff and the players don't see it that way. Sticking a player into a format he isn't best at and you don't even intend for him is pretty harmful to both his development and the streength of the team.
Racism imo.
Even within ODIs, there are some series that just don't mean much (esp next year four years out from the next world cup). Players are rested and no one seems to care too much whether they win or lose. Seven match monstrosities don't help much either. You mention Rashid, but I'd point to guys like Harris, Johnson and Hussey who had a much easier transition into Test cricket because of the international exposure. And look, he can't do much worse than Clarke in the format
Yeah, you're right. Although, if he was spending long nights wishing Lara was still there he might have gone for the 'weaker hand feels like someone else' approach.
Clarke was a green-horn back then and his shot-selection was the main problem, not to forget despite all that he had a good average and played some very important innings for Australia that pretty much single-handedly changed the game, after which his test career hit a rough patch.
