Hyderabad : AB de Villiers has opined that cricket will become a circus if every individual starts wearing their political or religious views on their wrists. The discussion around players expressing their political views surfaced after Usman Khawaja was sanctioned for wearing an armband without prior notification in the first Test against Pakistan in the recently concluded Test series when Australia registered a thumping victory.
Khawaja had appealed against the sanction but ICC rejected it and the topic came under spotlight after the incident. Former South African batter AB de Villiers has passed a critical comment on the incident saying that the sport will become a circus if players will start wearing their political or religious beliefs on their sleeves.
“This is something that is going on for many years. We know Moeen Ali wore wristbands and got into trouble with the ICC. Khawaja as well. It’s a very difficult topic. Difficult for me to give you an opinion, but what I can say is, ‘it can become a bit of a circus if every single individual wears his own political view or religious view on his wrist or wherever you know", he said.
"I think there’s a time and a place for that," he said on his YouTube channel.
Notably, Khawaja displayed dove and olive symbols on his shoes and bat during the ongoing Big Bash League. ICC had banned the symbol but Cricket Australia allowed the cricketer to wear the emblem.
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