Australia
captain
Pat Cummins
expressed his support for star opener
Usman Khawaja
on Monday, stating that Khawaja's attempt to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in
Gaza
is "not offensive."
Khawaja sought permission from the
International Cricket Council
(ICC) to feature a sticker on his bat and shoes depicting a black dove holding an olive branch during the second Test against Pakistan.
However, the
ICC
denied this request.
During Sunday's training session, Khawaja displayed the logo, which also included the inscription '01:UDHR,' referencing Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the first Test in Perth, the 36-year-old, who is a Muslim, was prevented from wearing shoes adorned with hand-written slogans 'Freedom is a human right' and 'All lives are equal' as they were deemed to violate ICC rules on messages related to politics, religion or race.
"We really support Uzzy. He's standing up for what he believes and I think he's done it really respectfully," Cummins told reporters on the eve of the Test in Melbourne.
"As I said last week, 'All lives are equal', I don't think that's very offensive and I'd say the same about the dove. That's Uzzy. I think he can really hold his head high with the way he's gone about it. But obviously there's rules in place and I believe the ICC have said they're not going to approve that. They make up the rules and you've got to accept it."
During the Perth Test, Khawaja wore a black armband, and the ICC reprimanded him. However, he insisted that it was in response to a "personal bereavement" and not driven by political motives.
Last week, he discussed how the Israel-Hamas conflict had personally affected 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," he said.
"I don't have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strongly about."
(With AFP inputs)
English (US) ·