Usman Khawaja has announced he will retire from international cricket after the fifth Ashes Test.

The Australia batter spoke to the media on Friday morning at the SCG ahead of what will now be his 88th and final Test. Sydney will provide a fitting venue for his farewell given Khawaja and his family emigrated to the city from Islamabad, Pakistan, when he was a child and he made made his Test debut there during the 2010-11 Ashes.

The 39-year-old also made his first-class bow there back in 2008, and now lives near the stadium.

Khawaja is one of only 17 Australians to have scored more than 15 Test centuries. He boasts 6,206 runs at an average of 43.49, and has played in 40 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and nine T20 internationals.

His legacy to Test cricket is about more than runs, though. Khawaja was Australia’s first Muslim Test cricketer and has regularly spoken up on issues of racism and opportunities for players with south-Asian heritage.

“This game humbles you,” he said on Friday. “It tests your patience, your resilience and your character. And if you’re lucky, it teaches you gratitude.

”Even on days that it doesn’t go your way, I hope I’ve inspired many children along the way, particularly those who feel they are different, those who feel they don’t belong, or those others who tell you they will never make it. I felt all these things growing up and trying to be an Australian cricketer, but seeing is believing.

“I’m a proud Muslim, coloured boy from Pakistan who was told that he would never play for the Australian cricket team. Look at me now. And you can do the same.

“As I walk off for the last time, I do so with gratitude and peace. Or, as we say: ‘Salam.’ Grateful for the journey, the people, the lessons. Thank you for letting me live my dream and for sharing it with me.”

Usman Khawaja has scored over 6,000 runs with 16 centuries for Australia in Tests (Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

If Khawaja scores 30 or more in his final Test he will reach 14th in the list of Australian Test run-scorers, leapfrogging Michael Hussey.

Khawaja started the on-going Ashes series as opener but had to move down the order in the opening Test in Perth after suffering back spasms in the field, which meant he missed the second match in Brisbane. With Travis Head having scored an incredible, match-winning 123 off 83 balls in Perth, Khawaja found himself out of the side for the third Test in Adelaide, only to earn a last-minute reprieve when Steve Smith fell ill.

He scored 82 and 40 in Adelaide batting at No 5, but said on Friday that being initially left out in Adelaide was “probably a sign” it was time to retire. He shared the news with his team-mates on Friday morning.

“I didn’t think I’d get emotional but I teared up straight away,” he added.