Australian captain Pat Cummins revealed that opener Usman Khawaja has opted against wearing shoes bearing messages related to the situation in Palestine during the first Test against Pakistan. The two sides will play the first of the three Tests in Perth from December 14, 2023.
Usman Khawaja, who has been vocal about his support for Palestine in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, wore shoes that had messages "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" written on them in Palestine flag colors. However, the batter has chosen not to wear those messages in the Test match.
This decision is due to the regulations set by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which explicitly prohibits any political, religious, or racial messages during matches. Cummins addressed the media, emphasizing Khawaja might not be aware of these guidelines and he doesn’t want to make a big commotion about the same.
"I spoke to him briefly and he said he won't be. It drew attention to the ICC rules, which I don't know if Uzzie was across beforehand. I know the ICC rules are quite specific to writing. Uzzie doesn't want to make too big of a fuss. On his shoes, he had, 'all lives are equal'. I think that's not very divisive. I don't think anyone can really have too many complaints about that,” Cummins said while addressing the media as quoted by TOI.
Khawaja had previously shared a video from the children's charity UNICEF on Instagram, expressing his concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Khawaja, who is Muslim, questioned the disregard for innocent lives based on factors such as skin color or religion.
He had said: “I’ve noticed what I’ve written on my shoes has caused a little bit of a stir. I won’t say much, I don’t need to. Is freedom not for everyone? Are all lives not equal? To me personally, it doesn’t matter what race, religion or culture you are. Let’s be honest about it. If me saying all lives are equal has resulted in people being offended, to the point where they’re calling me up, and telling me, well isn’t that the bigger problem? What I’ve written on my shoes isn’t political. I’m not taking sides. Human life to me is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life and so on. I’m just speaking up for those who don’t have a voice.”
This incident brings to mind the 2014 ban on England all-rounder Moeen Ali for wearing wristbands with the messages "Save Gaza" and "Free Palestine" during a home Test in 2014.
(AFP inputs)
