Captain Marnus Labuschagne confirmed that Usman Khawaja will play for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield final. Labuschagne also expressed confidence that high performance manager Joe Dawes, despite last week's public spat, will "improve his performance" rather than become a distraction.

Khawaja, 38, has been at the center of an unusual media storm leading up to the final after he missed the regular season's final match against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval.

Dawes spoke last Wednesday claiming Khawaja did not have any hamstring issues that they were aware of and said, "it's just disappointing he didn't play a game for Queensland when he had an opportunity to."

Queensland Cricket board member Ian Healy had also made strong comments on his SEN radio show saying, "It's just this pick and choose mentality that has been evident in his later years that Queensland haven't been happy with."

In an emotional and extensive press conference, Khawaja denied the allegations that he wasn’t injured, calling them "categorically untrue." He also expressed his disappointment over claims that he was unwilling to play for Queensland, pointing out that he spent five days in Melbourne at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix while the Shield match was underway.

Labuschagne confirmed that Khawaja will definitely take the field for the final at Karen Rolton Oval on Wednesday and expressed confidence that the Test opener will stay focused despite the tumultuous week.

"No, not at all," Labuschagne said at the captains' pre-game press conference. "If anything, it'll probably improve his performance. He just loves the big moments. He's been an amazing player for a long time, so I don't think he's going to have any issues with going out there and performing at his best."

South Australia captain Nathan McSweeney, who partnered with Khawaja as an opener in the first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series and previously played alongside him at Queensland, mentioned that he had a conversation with Khawaja before the final and expects him to deliver a strong performance.

"He wanted to see if he could get a tee time at Kooyonga," McSweeney said. "So I did send him a cheeky text. But he's all good. "He's a professional player, has been for a long time now, and I think he'll be definitely ready here tomorrow, and he'll be a massive wicket for us."