Usman Khawaja of Australia batted against Pakistan on Tuesday wearing shoes with his children’ names on them, after being barred from wearing shoes with a message about supporting human rights in Gaza.
During the first day of the second Test in Melbourne, Cricket Australia tweeted a close-up photograph of the 37-year-old’s shoes on X, which revealed the names of his daughters Aisha and Ayla glued to the side of his footwear.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) declined Khawaja’s request to wear a sticker depicting a black dove grasping an olive branch on his bat and shoes throughout the match.
The logo, which he exhibited during training on Sunday, also had the words 01:UDHR printed on it, referring to Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Khawaja, a Muslim, was also barred from wearing shoes with the handwritten inscriptions “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” during the first Test in Perth.
The ICC said they broke its guidelines by sending statements on politics, religion, or race.
On Monday, Khawaja seemed to rant on Instagram, writing, “Merry Christmas everybody.” You simply have to chuckle sometimes. “See you on Boxing Day!”
He used the hashtags #inconsistent and #doublestandards in his post.
Khawaja discussed how the Israel-Hamas crisis impacted him last week.
“When I’m looking at my Instagram and seeing innocent kids, videos of them dying, passing away, that’s what hit me the hardest,” he went on to say.
“I simply see my little girl in my arms… I feel emotional just thinking about it. “I have no hidden agendas.”
Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council have been approached for comment.