Team-mate defends David Warner after stinging Mitchell Johnson criticism over 'Sandpaper-gate'

Usman Khawaja jumped to the defence of his opening partner David Warner on Monday after stinging criticism of the veteran batsman from Australian great Mitchell Johnson.

Former fast bowler Johnson hit out after Warner kept his spot in Australia's squad to face Pakistan in the first Test later this month despite a poor run of red-ball form.

The three-match home series against Pakistan is expected to be Warner's farewell to Test cricket.

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The decision to keep faith with Warner provoked a strong response from Johnson, who questioned why his former team-mate should be given a "hero's send-off" in light of his poor Test form.

"Can somebody please tell me why?" he wrote in The West Australian newspaper at the weekend, also bringing up Warner's central role in the notorious "Sandpaper-gate" ball-tampering scandal in 2018.

"It's been five years and David Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal. Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country.

"Why a struggling Test opener gets to nominate his own retirement date. And why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a hero's send-off?

"Warner certainly isn't Australia's Test captain and never deserved to be for that matter. In fact, he ends his career under a lifetime leadership ban," Johnson wrote.

Steve Smith and Warner were both banned for a year for their part in the scandal, but Khawaja told reporters on Monday: "Davey Warner and Steve Smith are heroes in my mind."

"No one's perfect," Khawaja added.

"Mitchell Johnson isn't perfect, I'm not perfect, Steven Smith isn't perfect, David