Due to not receiving a visa in time for his scheduled flight into Bangalore last week, Usman Khawaja was delayed at home in Brisbane. His flight to Melbourne after receiving final approval was delayed, as was a Thursday connection to Delhi after spending the night in an airport hotel.
As a result, he had to pass through Delhi Airport on the way to Bangalore, where Australia had been practicing in preparation for the upcoming four-Test tour.
"I went Usain Bolt trying to make my connection. I somehow got on that flight – the last flight of the whole night – and got here. From the time I left Melbourne to here it was 24 hours,” Khawaja told cricket.com.au.
"That's just life, you just have to deal with it. It's no biggie, I'm here now and ready to go."
While it meant he only got a single training session in on the purpose-made spinning wickets in Alur before players departed for Nagpur on Monday, Khawaja stressed he would not be at a disadvantage.
A marathon sequence of hold-ups has left Khawaja feeling as fatigued as "exhausted" opening partner David Warner, but the batter insists weariness will be no barrier in the veteran pair's bid to spearhead a long-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph abroad.
"We're all tired and fatigued. Even I'm a bit tired and fatigued," said Khawaja. "We've played (two) Test series, played four Shield matches before then, played nine first-class game before Christmas, then put Big Bash in there with no time at home.
"Trying to get on seven different flights to get to India, then get here – we're all tired, we're all fatigued. That's just part and parcel of being a cricketer. Once you're on the field, it's just game on. It's the same with Davey. I've scored runs a lot of times when I have been tired and fatigued, you just have to find a way sometimes,” he added.
