Usman Khawaja has worn a black armband while batting on day one of the first Test against Pakistan, as he shows his solidarity for those suffering during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Key points:
- Khawaja taped over humanitarian messages written on his shoes
- He risked personal and team punishment if the messages were visible during a match
- Khawaja says he wants to challenge the ICC ruling
Khawaja also questioned the International Cricket Council (ICC) about its consistency with how it enforces its own rules after the Australian opener was banned from wearing shoes emblazoned with humanitarian messages.
The star left-hander was spotted at training in Perth on Tuesday with the words "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" written across his shoes.
But the ICC stepped in on the eve of the first Test, with Khawaja risking personal and team punishment if the messages were visible during a match.
Khawaja did instead wear a black armband when he walked out to bat on day one, while taping over the messages on his shoes.
After releasing a powerful video to social media on Wednesday night, Khawaja expressed his "frustration" about the situation ahead of play on Thursday.
"There's so much that has happened in the past that sets a precedent," he told Fox Cricket.
"I'm in full support of Black Lives Matter. There's plenty of guys who have written on their shoes before.
"There's other guys that have written religious things on their equipment, and under the ICC guidelines, that's not technically allowed, but the ICC never says anything on that.
"I find it a little bit disappointing they came down hard on me and they don't always come down hard on everyone else."
Khawaja reiterated he intended to challenge the ICC rules "as soon as possible" after taping over the messages on his shoes.
Australia captain Pat Cummins supported Khawaja's stance.
"You want everyone to bring their own individual self to the team. And what was on the shoes — all lives are equal — I mean, I support that," Cummins said on Thursday.
"I think that's not very divisive. I don't think anyone can really have too many complaints about that."
Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said his organisation backed their players to "use their voice on issues that are important to them".
But he was mindful ICC rules needed to be observed.
"When the team and ICC is involved, there are rules involved," Baird told ABC Sport.
"So from our point of view, [we're] very happy to support Uzzy (Khawaja) and he's obviously directly impacted by the conflict that is going on in the Middle East and wants to use his voice.
"It's just a question of how we use it noting the rules that are in place."
AAP
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2023-12-14 04:32:12Z
CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTEyLTE0L2NyaWNrZXQtZmlyc3QtdGVzdC1hdXN0cmFsaWEtcGFraXN0YW4tdXNtYW4ta2hhd2FqYS1wcm90ZXN0LzEwMzIyOTcwMtIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDMyMjk3MDI
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