Australia’s Test skipper Pat Cummins is receiving praise from all quarters after a video of him went viral, asking teammates to stop spraying champagne so that Usman Khawaja could join them in the Ashes winning celebrations.
Khawaja, the first Muslim cricketer to represent Australia, stepped aside to avoid being sprayed with alcohol in keeping with his religious beliefs when his teammates were getting ready to celebrate the Ashes win in Hobart.
Cummins quickly noticed and told his teammates to put aside the bottles before asking Khawaja to rejoin them on the dais.
Explaining his gesture, Cummins said he wants to celebrate the diverse culture of his team
"We've got a really diverse bunch of people and you want to celebrate that and you want to make sure everyone feels comfortable being themselves. That was just one moment," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Cummins as saying.
"The boys are fantastic in that space. They always look after each other. It's a really tight-knit group. I think one of the reasons is there is a lot of respect and love for each other. We had to make sure our teammate was in the photo with us," he added.
Usman Khawaja was included in the playing XI for the fourth Test after Travis Head tested positive for COVID-19 and the southpaw grabbed the opportunity with both hands, hitting centuries in both innings (137* and 101) at SCG to mark his return in the longest format after more than two years.
With Head reclaiming the No. 5 spot for the fifth and final Test in Hobart, Australia decided to promote Khawaja to the opening slot and the southpaw returned with scores of 6 and 11 across the two innings.
Coming to the series, Australia won the Hobart Test match by 146 runs to clinch the Ashes 4-0. The visiting England team only managed to escape with a draw in Sydney.
