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Australian batter Usman Khawaja has vowed to fight the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his right to express humanitarian views on the field after it was confirmed that he will not be wearing any messages written on his shoes during the first Test against Pakistan at Perth, which will start from Thursday.
"All lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" were written on his batting spikes during a training session apparently about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He reportedly wanted to wear it during the match, but later said that he will follow the ICC regulations prohibiting the "non-compliant" wording or logos and will fight it. Khawaja took to social media, expressing an emotional message that his stance was not political and he was not taking any sides. "What I have written on my shoes is not political. I am not taking sides. Human life to me is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life and so on. I am just speaking up for those who do not have a voice," said Khawaja as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. The batter had not communicated to his teammates and Cricket Australia about messages on his shoes before the media and photographers saw them. There are no ICC rules regarding players posting such messages on social media. During the recently-concluded ICC Cricket World Cup, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammed Rizwan did not receive any sanctions for expressing support for victims of the conflict in Gaza. However, there are strict ICC regulations about wearing "non-compliant" wording or logos during international matches. For instance, England all-rounder Moeen Ali was asked by the ICC to remove his wristband bearing slogans "Save Gaza" and "Free Palestine" during a Test match in 2014. Khawaja has said that he will continue his fight for expression even though he respects ICC's decision. "The ICC has told me I cannot wear my shoes on the field because they feel it is a political statement under their guidelines. I do not believe it's so. It is a humanitarian appeal. I will respect their view and decision. But I will fight it and seek to gain approval," he said. Cricket Australia in a statement released on Wednesday prior to skipper Pat Cummins' pre-game press conference said, "We support the right of our players to express personal opinions. But the ICC has rules in place which prohibit the display of personal messages which we expect the players to uphold." Cummins also said that he had spoken to the opening batter and he had revealed that he will not be wearing the statements on his shoes during the game. The skipper also expressed his support for Khawaja's "all lives are equal" message. "I spoke to him just quickly and [Khawaja] said he wouldn't be [wearing the statements]," Cummins said. "It kind of drew the attention to the ICC rules which I do not know if Uzzie was across beforehand. Uzzie does not want to make too big of a fuss. On his shoes, he had 'all lives are equal'. I think that is not very divisive. I do not think anyone can really have too many complaints about that." "I think it is one of our strongest points in our team is that everyone has their own passionate views and individual thoughts and I chatted to Uzzie briefly about it today. And I do not think his intention is to make too big of a fuss, but we support him. I think what was on the shoes, 'all lives are equal', I support that," he concluded. The ICC regulations make do's and don'ts regarding a players' attire in a 69-page document. Players are not permitted to have any messages on their clothing, or equipment unless it is approved before by their board or ICC. The document also states that messages having a political cause "shall not be granted". ICC acknowledges the fact that cricket is a tool that can be used to bring people and communities together, but "not as a platform to draw attention to potentially divisive political issues, rhetoric or agendas". Australian sports minister Anika Wells has voiced support for the opener. "As the federal sports minister, I have always advocated for athletes to have the right to have a voice and to speak up on matters that are important to them," she said at a press conference in Perth on Wednesday. "Usman Khawaja is a great athlete. Usman Khawaja is a great Australian, and he has every right to speak up on matters that are important to him. I think he has done it in a peaceful and respectful way, and as a way that he as an individual can express an individual opinion that does not compromise the Australian cricket team's obligations to the ICC," she concluded. (ANI)
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