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Australia will host the Shan Masood-led Men in Green in the second of the three-match Test series, starting December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. However, the hosts stand 1-0 up in the Test series, star batter Usman Khawaja has been under scrutiny for his stand in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
While he was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for wearing a black armband during Test against Pakistan, he was spotted sporting a peace symbol and reference to the United Declaration of Human Rights on his bat and shoes ahead of the Boxing Day Test.
During the training session on Sunday, 24 December was seen donning a black dove holding an olive branch on his shoes and the bat too. However, this move was denied by the ICC in a fresh attempt to don a humanitarian logo.
Khawaja to contest charge over “personal bereavement”
“The ICC asked me 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 followed all the regulations and past precedents - guys have put stickers on their bat, names on their shoes, done all sorts of things in the past without ICC approval and never been reprimanded,” he further added.
