Australia v Pakistan, Boxing Day Test: David Warner praises Usman Khawaja for battling storm with ICC

David Warner has praised Usman Khawaja for weathering the storm of his ongoing battle with the ICC, after Khawaja posted to Instagram highlighting the double standards in the game.

David Warner has praised Usman Khawaja for weathering the storm of his repeat battles with the ICC after it emerged that the opener’s pro-Palestinian stance had likely hurt his cause.

Khawaja made 42 on day one of the Boxing Day Test after the previous night accusing the governing body of double standards in its rejection of his push to place a dove sticker, along with a reference to the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on his shoes and bat during the clash with Pakistan at the MCG.

Cricket Australia had worked with Khawaja to find an inoffensive solution after the ICC had first blocked his request to wear shoes adorned with humanitarian messages written in the Palestinian colours of red, green and black.

Khawaja instead batted on Tuesday with the names of his daughters Aisha and Ayla on his shoes.

He had posted on Instagram on Christmas night, displaying a montage of examples including teammate Marnus Labuschagne using a bat with a sticker of a bible verse, claiming that the ICC had not implemented its rules consistently.

Usman Khawaja’s latest efforts to promote peaceful messages on his boots have been denied by the ICC. Picture: Getty

While CA chief Nick Hockley did not go as far as confirming that Khawaja’s decision to initially allude to the plight of one group of people in the Israel-Hamas war over another had hurt his cause, he said the “broader context” of the batter’s stance had played a role, according to the ICC.

“My understanding is the context of the lead into Perth Test, and the context of the lead into the making of the application (contributed). Again, we work with Uzzie to try and find something which was nonpartisan, non-religious, apolitical, the universally recognised symbol of peace. But I think the ICC statement calls out the broader context,” Hockley said before play on Tuesday.

“We didn’t speak yesterday. We spoke the day before and I think over the last week or so we’ve been working really constructively with Uzzie to find a way that (was) nonpartisan, I think that symbol is universally recognised as a symbol of peace. That being said, the ICC have got their rules. I think they explained the rationale really clearly and we respect that.

“We’ve been really clear about is that we support all our players really to share what they believe over their own channels. I think the ICC has very clear rules in place for good reason. I think I’ve already said it on Friday when we were here at the MCG, the thing that has really been shone a light upon is just the need for consistency of following the process and consistency in applications.”

Khawaja’s long-time friend and opening partner Warner said his fellow veteran had handled the situation well.

“He’s been fine,” Warner said.

“He’s put his statement out there that he believes in that, all lives are equal. And with him, he wouldn’t have made that statement if he didn’t feel like he could take the criticism. At the end of the day he’s a big boy. I just said to him, ‘you’ve just got to keep believing in what you believe in and move on and get on with cricket’ and he’s done that pretty well, to be fair.”

Marnus Labuschagne (R) shares a laugh with teammate Usman Khawaja on Christmas Eve. Picture: AFP

Khawaja’s Instagram post showed a screenshot of the ICC regulations around personal messages on clothing and equipment, highlighting the prohibition against religious, racial or political messages along with images of Marnus Labuschagne, Keshav Maharaj and Nicholas Pooran displaying religious-themed stickers on their bats.

“Sometimes you just gotta laugh. Cya at Boxing Day! #inconsistent #doublestandards,” Khawaja said.

Khawaja’s post had a backing track from musician Kanye West, who has courted controversy for anti-Semitic views in recent years.

The ICC said: “The ICC, after giving due consideration to Usman Khawaja’s request for a personal message logo on his bat for the remainder of the Test series against Pakistan, did not approve the application. Personal messages of this nature are not allowed as per Clause F of the Clothing and Equipment Regulations, which can be found on the ICC Playing Conditions page.

“The ICC is supportive of players using their platforms outside of the playing arena to promote human rights, peace and equality and would encourage him to continue to use alternative platforms.”

Originally published as Australia v Pakistan, Boxing Day Test: David Warner praises Usman Khawaja for battling storm with ICC