On the first day of the Test match between Australia and Pakistan, Usman Khawaja, the opener for Australia, was wearing a black armband.
AUS vs. PAK: Following the ICC’s ban on “all lives are equal” shoes, Usman Khawaja dons a black armband (AFP Photo)
In summary,
- on the first day of the series-opening Test match against Pakistan, Usman Khawaja wore a black armband.
- Khawaja was prohibited from donning shoes bearing the slogan “all lives are equal”.
- Khawaja wore a black wristband as a sign of solidarity with those impacted in Gaza.
On the first day of the Test match between Australia and Pakistan, Usman Khawaja, the opener, chose to wear a black armband in protest of being forbidden from donning shoes bearing the slogan “all lives are equal.”
Live updates for Day 1 of the First Test between Australia and Pakistan
After Khawaja said he planned to wear shoes with messages during the game to raise awareness of the innocent lives lost in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the International Cricket Council intervened on Wednesday.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) rules that govern international cricket prohibit the display of political or religious messages on team uniforms or accessories. To avoid possible consequences for himself or the team, Khawaja stated that he was following the ruling. He did, however, state that he intended to disagree with the ICC’s position.
In a social media post, Khawaja stated, “All rights are equal and freedom is a human right.” “I will never stop believing that.”
Pakistani-born Khawaja, who is well-known for being Australia’s first-ever Muslim Test cricket player, showed solidarity with Gaza by wearing a black armband. In TV interviews prior to the match, he discussed previous occasions in which teammates in cricket were allowed to support different causes.
“They came down hard on me, and they don’t always come down hard on everyone,” he said, sounding a little disappointed.
“What was on the shoes – all lives are equal – I support that,” Cummins stated. That isn’t very polarizing. No one really can have too many complaints about that, in my opinion.” Chalmers stated that Khawaja should be permitted to wear the shoes by the ICC on Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
“I find it unusual that people want to dispute that, and I don’t think it’s an especially controversial statement,” he said. “The lives of people on opposing sides of a conflict are equally valuable and have no bearing on one another.”
