Australian Test opener Usman Khawaja has taken a brutal dig at International Cricket Council's 'double standards' after the world's cricket governing body rejected his application to wear shoes with Dove Logo for the MCG Test against Pakistan on Sunday.
Khawaja and ICC have been at the loggerheads since Australian batter was debarred from wearing 'All Lives Are Equal' shoes for the first Test of the three-match series against Pakistan in Perth. However, Khawaja wore a black armband and put a tape on the message on the shoes during the Perth Test.
The ICC reprimanded Khawaja for wearing the black armband for the 1st Test against visiting Pakistan team, which forced him to address the media on his intention to wear the shoes with a message.
Upset with ICC's action against him, Usman Khawaja put a post on his Instagram and highlighted the board 'double standards' and 'inconsistency' in following their rules and regulations, with a caption, "Merry Christmas everybody. Sometimes you just gotta laugh. Cya at Boxing Day! #inconsistent #doublestandards.”
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The video shared by Usman Khawaja had images of his Australian teammate Marnus Labuschagne with a bible verse on his bat, West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran with Christian cross on his bat, and South African all-rounder Keshav Maharaja with the 'Om' symbol on his bat.
Through the video, Khawaja tries to indicate the lack of action by ICC against them for displaying the religious or political message during the ICC matches.
Pat Cummins throws weight behind Khawaja
Australian captain Pat Cummins came out in support of his teammate Usman Khawaja after ICC rejected his request to wear Black Dove shoes as his latest gesture towards humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, Cummins expressed his support towards Australian opener as he believes that he stood for the right cause. He added that rules by ICC need to be accepted.
"We really support Uzzy, I think he's standing up for what he believes and I think he's doing it really respectfully. All lives are equal and I don't think that's very offensive, and I'd say the same about the dove. That's Uzzy." Australian skipper said.
"He can hold his head high the way he's gone about it, but there's rules in place, so 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," he added.
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