Australia opener Usman Khawaja had opted out of wearing shoes with messages in support of Palestine written on them as his team took on Pakistan in the first Test in Perth on December 14, 2023, but he made sure to show his support by wearing a black armband.
Khawaja, a Muslim born in Pakistan, had originally intended to wear the shoes displaying the hand-written messages "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" during the match. This was to show his full support to Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas war, which was triggered by Hamas’ raids into Israel on October 7 resulting in the loss of 1,200 lives.
However, on the eve of the Test match, Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed that Khawaja won’t be doing so as it wasn’t allowed as per ICC guidelines.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) rules on messages during matches, specifically, those related to politics, religion, or race, prevented the Australian opener from doing so. Cricket Australia, in adherence to these rules, urged players to comply.
When Usman Khawaja walked out to open the innings with David Warner, after Pat Cummins had won the toss and chose to bat first, he was seen wearing a black armband on his left arm and had covered the slogans with tape, making the words visible colored in the shades of the Palestinian flag only in close-up.
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Not only this, but Khawaja also showed his dissatisfaction with the ICC's regulations, pointing out the perceived double standards when players had expressed support for other political movements without facing sanctions.
“I just think that so much has happened in the past that sets a precedent. I mean full support of Black Lives Matter. There are plenty of guys who have written on their shoes before. Other guys that have religious things on their equipment, under the ICC guidelines that’s not technically allowed but the ICC never says anything about that. I find it a little disappointing that they came down hard on me but they don’t always come down hard on everyone else. That was probably the most frustrating part,” said Khawaja as quoted by Fox Cricket.
Khawaja got out for 41 runs after adding 126 runs for the first wicket with David Warner.
