Usman Khawaja has leapt to the defence of his opening Test batting partner David Warner after former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson slammed the retiring batsman.
Khawaja lauded Warner as a "hero" after Johnson, in his column for the West Australian, said he didn't believe the opener deserved a swansong.
Warner, who has been selected for the first Test of the summer in Perth, has previously flagged an intention to finish his career at the SCG in the third Test against Pakistan.
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Johnson went on to accuse Warner of never "owning" the sandpaper saga that resulted in him being banned for a year and also claimed Warner's form at Test level had not warranted selection.
However, Khawaja slammed Johnson's take.
"From bits and pieces that I have read, I don't necessarily agree," Khawaja said.
"Davey Warner and Steve Smith are heroes in my mind, they missed a year of cricket through a dark time in Australian cricket, but they paid their dues.
"No one's perfect, Mitchell Johnson isn't perfect, I'm not perfect, Steve Smith isn't perfect, Dave Warner isn't perfect.
"What they've done for the game from a positive point of view far outweighs anything else they've done, so for him to imply Dave Warner or anyone else involved in sandpaper is not a hero, I strongly disagree because I feel like they've paid their dues."
Khawaja opened up on the "toll" the South Africa incident took on his teammates.
"A year out of cricket, it's a long time. I was there, I saw the toll it took on Steve Smith, David Warner, it was massive, obviously Cameron Bancroft was there too. These guys were at the top of their games playing international cricket."
Khawaja also declared Marnus Labuschagne shouldn't be moved to the top of the batting order after Warner retires, instead urging Australian selectors to seek out a specialist opener.
The 36-year-old Australian opener believes it is smarter to keep Labuschagne batting at No.3, to not disrupt the order that is already in place.
"Opening's not easy. It's tough work," Khawaja said.
"I can tell you that because I've batted one, two, three, four, five and six for Australia. I'm telling you by far opening is the hardest, and it's very hard to bring in someone who hasn't opened.
"He (Labuschagne) averages 55 at three, and (No.4) Steve Smith averages 60, so you wouldn't want to mess around with it too much.
"Opening can be a very, very tough thing to do, mentally more than physically, so I'm always a bit shy of letting people who haven't opened much in the past open the batting.
"Have you asked Marnus this? I think he will give you a really clear 'hell no'."
Khawaja suggested Bancroft, Marcus Harris or Matt Renshaw would be a better fit to open, describing a possibly Labuschagne move as a "long shot".
"Marnus has openingitis. I am pretty sure David Warner hurt his arm and they sent Alex Carey out to open, so I think it's a long shot.''
"Even if I did think one was better than the other, it's so minuscule that it probably doesn't matter so I think all three of those guys that are in contention to open the batting deserve it.
"We have so many openers to pick from. I don't think there's any point shifting around players for the sake of it."
Usman Khawaja has leapt to the defence of his opening Test batting partner David Warner after former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson slammed the retiring batsman.
Khawaja lauded Warner as a "hero" after Johnson, in his column for the West Australian, said he didn't believe the opener deserved a swansong.
Warner, who has been selected for the first Test of the summer in Perth, has previously flagged an intention to finish his career at the SCG in the third Test against Pakistan.
READ MORE: Simmering state feud that could derail Aussie's cricket summer
READ MORE: 'Angry' Ange wins over Premier League greats
READ MORE: $3.2m England star brutally trolled by Iceland after loss
Johnson went on to accuse Warner of never "owning" the sandpaper saga that resulted in him being banned for a year and also claimed Warner's form at Test level had not warranted selection.
However, Khawaja slammed Johnson's take.
"From bits and pieces that I have read, I don't necessarily agree," Khawaja said.
"Davey Warner and Steve Smith are heroes in my mind, they missed a year of cricket through a dark time in Australian cricket, but they paid their dues.
"No one's perfect, Mitchell Johnson isn't perfect, I'm not perfect, Steve Smith isn't perfect, Dave Warner isn't perfect.
"What they've done for the game from a positive point of view far outweighs anything else they've done, so for him to imply Dave Warner or anyone else involved in sandpaper is not a hero, I strongly disagree because I feel like they've paid their dues."
Khawaja opened up on the "toll" the South Africa incident took on his teammates.
"A year out of cricket, it's a long time. I was there, I saw the toll it took on Steve Smith, David Warner, it was massive, obviously Cameron Bancroft was there too. These guys were at the top of their games playing international cricket."
Khawaja also declared Marnus Labuschagne shouldn't be moved to the top of the batting order after Warner retires, instead urging Australian selectors to seek out a specialist opener.
The 36-year-old Australian opener believes it is smarter to keep Labuschagne batting at No.3, to not disrupt the order that is already in place.
"Opening's not easy. It's tough work," Khawaja said.
"I can tell you that because I've batted one, two, three, four, five and six for Australia. I'm telling you by far opening is the hardest, and it's very hard to bring in someone who hasn't opened.
"He (Labuschagne) averages 55 at three, and (No.4) Steve Smith averages 60, so you wouldn't want to mess around with it too much.
"Opening can be a very, very tough thing to do, mentally more than physically, so I'm always a bit shy of letting people who haven't opened much in the past open the batting.
"Have you asked Marnus this? I think he will give you a really clear 'hell no'."
Khawaja suggested Bancroft, Marcus Harris or Matt Renshaw would be a better fit to open, describing a possibly Labuschagne move as a "long shot".
"Marnus has openingitis. I am pretty sure David Warner hurt his arm and they sent Alex Carey out to open, so I think it's a long shot.''
"Even if I did think one was better than the other, it's so minuscule that it probably doesn't matter so I think all three of those guys that are in contention to open the batting deserve it.
"We have so many openers to pick from. I don't think there's any point shifting around players for the sake of it."
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