Despite Usman Khawaja being disallowed to wear shoes with slogans supporting Palestine, a handful of fans did not let the potential controversy fade away. With fans displaying a banner of "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" on day 4, reports have claimed that security had taken it down and fans were escorted out of the stadium.
Khawaja attracted plenty of eyeballs by wearing shoes containing the slogan, "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" during the training session ahead of the 1st Test in Perth. He planned to wear the same for the 1st Test in Perth to express solidarity with Palestine amid the conflict against Israel, but the ICC disallowed him from doing so. Nevertheless, the southpaw promised to challenge the ICC regulations.
After being disallowed to wear 'non-compliant shoes, the 36-year-old decided to wear black armbands in the 1st Test to support the cause.
Usman Khawaja produces the goods as Australia dominate Pakistan in 1st Test:
The veteran didn't let the controversy before the match affect his performance as he played a key role in Australia's 360-run win wrapped up on day 4 in Perth. Khawaja made a handy 41 in the first innings to follow it up with a gritty 90 in the 2nd to set a 450-run target for Pakistan.
However, the tourists crumbled to 89 as Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc snared 3 wickets each. However, the highlight of the innings was Nathan Lyon reaching the much-awaited 500th wicket mark, becoming the 3rd Australian in the history to do so in Tests.
