The International Cricket Council (ICC) denied Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja permission to use a peace symbol on his bat and shoes during the Boxing Day match against Pakistan on Sunday.
Australia’s Usman Khawaja denied peace symbol bat
Khawaja wore a sticker on his bat and shoes with a black dove and the words 01:UDHR, a reference to Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, during a practice session before Australia’s second Test match with Pakistan on December 26 (Tuesday) in Melbourne, according to AFP.
The sportsman has met with Cricket Australia multiple times in recent days to deliberate on a message for the second Test match, according to Australian media. The ICC rejected his newest humanitarian gesture, The Australian and Melbourne Age reported. ICC officials were unavailable for comment.
Khawaja, a Muslim, was banned from wearing shoes with the handwritten inscriptions “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” during the first Test in Perth.
The 36-year-old wanted to help Gazans throughout the Israeli attack. He was warned they violated ICC guidelines on political, religious, and racial statements. He was penalised by the ICC for wearing a black armband during the match, but he claimed it was for a “personal bereavement” and vowed to appeal. Khawaja said Friday that witnessing how many youngsters had been murdered in the Israel-Hamas conflict depressed him.
“When I’m looking at my Instagram and seeing innocent kids, videos of them dying, passing away, that’s what hit me the hardest,” said he.
“I don’t have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strongly about.”
