Melbourne, Dec 22: After being charged by International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the regulations of wearing a black armband in support of Palestinians in Gaza during the first test against Pakistan, Australian opener Usman Khawaja on Friday said he will contest the charge as had already informed the governing body that it was for a "personal bereavement".
Earlier, Khawaja had worn a black armband during the first Test match against Pakistan in Perth last week. He attended the training session on December 13, a day before the start of the Perth test, with his 'all lives are equal' shoes and 'freedom is human right' written on his batting spikes and planned to wear them in the five-day encounter.
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An emotional Usman Khawaja addresses why he's speaking up for human rights issues this summer ☮️ #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/3QDjUWpjgG
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 22, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">An emotional Usman Khawaja addresses why he's speaking up for human rights issues this summer ☮️ #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/3QDjUWpjgG
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 22, 2023An emotional Usman Khawaja addresses why he's speaking up for human rights issues this summer ☮️ #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/3QDjUWpjgG
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 22, 2023
"The ICC asked me on day two (of the Perth Test) what (the black armband) was for, I told them it was for a personal bereavement. I never ever stated it was for anything else," Khawaja told reporters.
"I respect the ICC and all the regulations they have, I will be asking them and contesting them. From my point of view, that consistency hasn't been done yet. The shoes were for a different matter, I'm happy to say that, but the armband (reprimand) made no sense to me," he added.
The batter added that the global governing body had not applied the rules consistently. "I followed all the regulations and past precedents. Guys have put stickers on their bats, names on their shoes, done all sorts of things in the past without ICC approval and never been reprimanded," he quipped.
The ICC's regulations prevent players from displaying messages of political, religious, or racial causes during international matches. However, players can wear black armbands to mark the deaths of former players, family members, or other significant individuals after obtaining prior permission from the governing body.
The ICC charged Khawaja for breach of ICC regulations for wearing a black armband in Perth. Khawaja also denied he had "any hidden agendas" when he arrived for a training session with "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" inscribed on his batting spikes, apparently about the war in Gaza.
"I don't have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strong about. I'm trying to do it in the most respectful way possible," said Khawaja.
"What I wrote on my shoes was, really I thought about it for a while, what I was going to write. I made sure that I didn't want to segregate different parts of the population, religious beliefs, communities," he added.
"Hence why I kept religion out of this. I want to be really broad in my speaking because I'm talking about humanitarian issues. I'm talking about article one of the Unified Declaration of Human Rights. That is literally the crux of it," added Khawaja.
"The reason I'm doing it is because it hit me hard. I told Nick (Hockley, Cricket Australia chief) literally just this morning that when I'm looking at my Instagram and I'm seeing kids, innocent kinds, videos of them dying, passing away, that's what hit me the hardest.
"I just imagine my young daughter in my arms and the same thing. I get emotional talking about it right now again. And for me, that's the reason I'm doing this. I don't have any hidden agendas. If anything, you know, if anything, this brings up more negativity towards me. People come and start attacking me. I don't get anything out of this. I just feel like it's my responsibility to speak up on this," he concluded.
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