"I would like the ICC to explain what exactly has Usman Khawaja done wrong??"- Tabraiz Shamsi
South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi recently extended support to Australian batter Usman Khawaja in his ongoing clash with the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The ICC reprimanded Usman Khawaja after he wore shoes that had "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right" written on them during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth. The southpaw tried to send a humanitarian message through this to express solidarity with the Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
Usman Khawaja expressed his displeasure over the ICC's decision and accused them of showing double standards in one of his recent Instagram posts, where he pointed out a few other cricketers using a variety of religious symbols on their bats, which is against ICC's rules.
Khawaja has now received support from fellow international cricketer Tabraiz Shamsi, who called out the ICC for their mistreatment towards him. Shamsi's X post on the matter read:
"I would like the @ICC to explain what exactly has @Uz_Khawaja done wrong?? Why the double standards?? #AllLivesAreEqual #FreedomIsAHumanRight"
"I think he’s standing up for what he believes and I think he’s doing it really respectfully"- Australia captain Pat Cummins on Usman Khawaja
Australian skipper Pat Cummins supported Usman Khawaja in his ongoing clash against the ICC and stated that he is doing things respectfully.
Cummins said that he did not find anything offensive in Khawaja's gestures but felt that nothing much could be done as it was ICC's decision. Pat Cummins was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald:
"I don’t know the ins and outs of the application, but I think it is pretty vanilla, a dove. We really support Uzzy (Usman), 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. I’ve spoken to Uzzy a fair bit. I won’t go into too [much] depth, but it’s really similar to what he’s said publicly."
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