Usman Khawaja exposes the ICC’s ‘double standards’ with Instagram upload

Australian star Usman Khawaja has taken aim at cricket’s governing body with an eye-opening upload from Christmas Day.

Usman Khawaja has taken to social media to call out the International Cricket Council.

The Australian opener has been at loggerheads with cricket’s governing body prior to the first Test against Pakistan.

Watch Australia v Pakistan on Kayo Sports. Every Test match Live with no ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

After initially being blocked from wearing shoes with the messages “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” written on them, Khawaja wore a black armband.

That move saw him reprimanded by the ICC after he had not sought approval to don the armband during the Test in Perth.

Ahead of the Boxing Day Test he was hoping to have a symbol of peace on his shoes and bat, but that move was also rejected by the ICC.

Along with the black dove, Khawaja had a reference to Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on his bat.

Article One states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

Now the Australian star has taken aim at the governing body as he exposed their “double standards” in a Christmas Day post.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday night, Khawaja uploaded a reel with Kanye West’s ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ in the background as images of cricketer’s with similar messages on their bats popped up.

“Merry Christmas everybody. Sometimes you just gotta laugh. Cya at Boxing Day! #inconsistent #doublestandards,” he wrote, with a face palm emoji.

Khawaja calls out the ICC's double standards

Usman exposes ICC's double standards

Usman exposes ICC's double standards

Pat Cummins weighed in when asked about the issue in the lead up to Tuesday’s Boxing Day Test at the MCG, believing Khawaja’s statement “isn’t very offensive”.

“I don’t know the ins and outs of the application, but I think it is pretty vanilla, a dove,” Cummins said.

“We really support Uzzy, I think he’s standing up for what he believes and I think he’s doing it really respectfully. All lives are equal and I don’t think that’s very offensive, and I’d say the same about the dove. That’s Uzzy. He can hold his head high the way he’s gone about it, but there’s rules in place, so I believe the ICC have said they’re not going to approve that. They make up the rules and you’ve got to accept it.”

Cummins says a big reason behind the recent success of the Aussie cricketing side is due to allowing each player to be themselves and express their opinions without judgement.

Cummins is fully behind Khawaja. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

“That’s the environment we try to create. Everyone is at their best when they’re bringing their own self to any group. We’re talking about people here, not just talking about guys who hit a cricket ball or bowl a cricket ball, they’re real people,” Cummins said.

“I’ve spoken to Uzzy a fair bit. I won’t go into much depth, but it’s really similar to what he’s said publicly. He just sees all lives as equal, he sees the war there as a waste, and there’s a lot of loss that he’s trying to shine a light on that he thinks isn’t necessary. We support him.

“When you’re happy off the field you tend to play better and play with more freedom and clarity on the field and I think the best way to get that is to bring your own individual self to the group and we try to encourage that.

“It’s great that people like Uzzy feel like they can be themselves and stand up for things they’re passionate about within the team.”

Originally published as Usman Khawaja exposes the ICC’s ‘double standards’ with Instagram upload