Usman Khawaja accuses ICC of 'double standards', being 'inconsistent' over Gaza support

Australia batter Usman Khawaja has once again lambasted the global cricket body, the International Cricket Council (ICC, of holding double standards after being denied permission to display a dove of peace on his bat during the second Test against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan-born Khawaja has been vocal about wanting to show support for the people of Gaza. He was reprimanded for wearing a black armband in the first Test at Perth earlier this month. He had originally wanted to show his support with the messages “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” on his shoes in the colours of the Palestinian flag. However, that gesture fell foul of ICC regulations. Also Read | 'ICC show their hypocrisy and lack of moral standing': Michael Holding Subsequently, Khawaja worked with Cricket Australia on a new way to show his support by having the dove on his bat accompanied by the message “01: UDHR” in a reference to the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As per The Australian newspaper, ICC refused to allow him to display that message as well. On Monday, on the eve of the second Test at MCG, Khawaja posted pictures of other international players with religious symbols and messages on their bats on Instagram. “Merry Christmas everybody, sometimes you just gotta laugh … #inconsistent #doublestandards,” he wrote as caption.

On Monday, Australia captain Pat Cummins said the team were sympathetic to Khawaja’s desire to show his support to the people of Gaza. “I don’t know the ins and outs of the application, but I think it is pretty vanilla, a dove,” he told reporters. “We really support Uzzy, I think he’s standing up for what he believes and I think he’s doing it really respectfully,” he 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.” The ICC Code of Conduct doesn’t allow players to wear, display or convey messages through arm bands or other items on clothing or equipment without prior approval, especially for “political, religious or racial” causes. Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza in response to the deadly 7 October cross-border attacks by Hamas has killed at least 20,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.