Sports

Usman Khawaja denied permission to have peace symbol on bat: reports

Australia’s Usman Khawaja has been denied permission to place a peace symbol on his bat and shoes for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, reports said Sunday.

A sticker showing a black dove and the words 01:UDHR — a reference to Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — was on his bat and shoes during training in Melbourne on Sunday.

The star batter had multiple meetings with Cricket Australia over recent days to find a message that would be appropriate for the second Test this week, local media said.

But his latest humanitarian gesture has been turned down by the International Cricket Committee, The Australian and Melbourne Age newspapers reported.

The ICC were not immediately available for comment.

Usman Khawaja, a Muslim, was stopped from wearing shoes emblazoned with the hand-written slogans “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” during the first Test in Perth.

The 36-year-old had wanted to show his support for the people of Gaza.

But he was told they flouted ICC rules on messages that relate to politics, religion or race.

Usman Khawaja donned the black armband during Australia’s 360-run victory in Perth, a move seen at the time as support for people in Gaza, where thousands have been killed.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

However, the ICC said it breached their clothing and equipment regulations.

“Usman displayed a personal message (armband) during the first Test match against Pakistan without seeking the prior approval of Cricket Australia and the ICC to display it, as required in the regulations for personal messages,” the ICC said late Thursday.

“This is a breach under the category of an ‘other breach’ and the sanction for a first offence is a reprimand.”

Khawaja said he would not wear an armband during the second Test in Melbourne next week but insisted that it was for a “personal bereavement” and vowed to contest the ruling.

“No, I’m not wearing it again. As I said to the ICC, the armband was for a personal bereavement,” he told reporters in Melbourne.

“The armband was different to my shoes. The shoes were very obvious. At the end of the day, I didn’t wear the shoes. I respected the rules and procedures and left it at that.”

He added that being reprimanded for the armband “makes no sense” and pointed to other players who had previously put stickers on their bats and names on their shoes without approval and escaped punishment, urging the ICC to be more consistent.

Khawaja spoke on Friday about how the Israel-Hamas conflict had affected him, saying he despaired at seeing how many children had been killed.

“When I’m looking at my Instagram and seeing innocent kids, videos of them dying, passing away, that’s what hit me the hardest,” he said.

“I don’t have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strongly about.”

READ: WATCH: Haris Rauf comes out to bat without pads in BBL

Recent Posts

Misbah believes Amir’s experience will be crucial in T20 World Cup 2024

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has expressed his support for pace bowler Mohammad Amir, stating that…

14 hours ago

Erling Haaland tells Manchester City to ‘relax’ ahead of title race finale

Erling Haaland has urged his Manchester City teammates to "relax" after they closed in on…

15 hours ago

Babar Azam vows to keep momentum going against England

DUBLIN: Pakistan's white-ball captain, Babar Azam, expressed satisfaction with the team's performance in the Ireland…

16 hours ago

Hasaranga, Shakib share top-spot in ICC T20I All-Rounder Rankings

DUBAI: Sri Lanka's T20I captain Waninda Hasaranga and Bangladesh's veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan are…

17 hours ago

India’s potential T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final venue unveiled

India will play the second semi-final of the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup…

17 hours ago

Bellingham, Vinicius shine as champions Real Madrid smash Alaves

MADRID: Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior inspired runaway La Liga champions Real Madrid to a…

20 hours ago