Usman Khawaja says he hid rheumatoid arthritis throughout his Test career as he readies autobiography Sabr

Usman Khawaja revealed in Brisbane on Monday that he kept the rheumatoid arthritis that threatened his playing future secret throughout his Test career as he prepares to release his autobiography, Sabr, on 10 November. He said he kept the condition hidden because, in his words, "I didn't want anyone to use it against me."

Khawaja said the diagnosis came at 22 after pain in his left knee left him unable to walk 10m to the bathroom and that only regular injections kept him on his feet and able to play; he said he still has them. "It was debilitating. I took an injection last night," he said in Brisbane on Monday. Khawaja finished his Test career with 6,229 runs and 16 centuries.

He described how the arthritis affected his body and playing availability, saying, "It was part of the reason that I did my back at the end of my career, but I couldn't tell anyone." He added, "I never got injured before I had my arthritic illness, but after that I got injured quite a lot and had to find a way to get my body in the right spot. Even my best friend from high school, Ardil, didn't know until one year ago."

Khawaja said the decision to keep the condition private was driven by concern over perception: "I felt like I already had all these stereotypes I was trying to beat in Australian cricket, and I didn't want to use that as an excuse." He expressed gratitude that those who were aware at Cricket NSW, Cricket Australia and among medical staff "kept to their ethical code and didn't say anything."

He also explained why he wrote the book without a ghost writer: "I didn't think anyone could encapsulate my story like I could because no one has been through the same journey in Australian cricket like I have." On who his story is about, Khawaja said: "The immigrant, brown, Pakistani Muslim kid coming from overseas to play our national game is something I didn't feel comfortable someone else writing about."

Khawaja said he met Australia captain Pat Cummins to discuss the section of the book that deals with the 2018 Sandpapergate ball-tampering episode. "I didn't come out in my book to shock and awe," Khawaja grinned. "It is my story. People have learned over time that I am pretty open and honest about most things. My goal for my story was to relate to everyone."

He said Sabr charts his life in the subcontinent and his life as a cricketer in Australia, containing what he called "funny stories" and "great learnings," along with tougher material: "There are also some tough times with racial vilification, but amalgamated together it is a different story to anything you would have read in a cricket autobiography," he said. Khawaja identified himself as a trailblazer and pointed to emerging players from subcontinental backgrounds: "There hadn't been another me before me, but now there are plenty of players with a subcontinent background coming in. You've got Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha and Gurinder Sandhu." He noted that "Tanveer Sangha and Sandhu have both played white-ball cricket for Australia" and added, "They haven't cracked the Tests, which is the hardest. That is always the goal. When we start seeing the Test team represented by the multicultural community, that is when you know you have started to make headway."

Sabr is due for release on 10 November, and Khawaja said he wrote it "for people who do love cricket and for those who don't."