On 25th December, Pakistan-born Australian opener Usman Khawaja made a sarcastic post on Instagram extending ‘Christmas wishes’. Using the hashtags “#inconsistent and #doublestandards”, Khawaja alleged a bias on the ICC’s part to penalise him while ‘sparing’ other cricketers. To buttress his case, he dragged South African spinner Keshav Mahara who belongs to the Hindu faith and has an ‘Om’ sticker on his bat; along with two other cricketers in his post.
The post had Kanye West’s ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ song playing in the background and the caption read, “Merry Christmas everybody. Sometimes you just gotta laugh. Cya on Boxing Day! #inconsistent #doublestandards”
In the post, he highlighted the ‘Om’ sticker on the bat of Keshav Maharaj. Additionally, it also includes his Australian teammate Marnus Labuschagne and West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran who have an eagle, bible verse on their bat, and ‘Cross’ stickers on their bats.
Through the post, Khwaja tried to present an argument that either his “non-political” support to Palestinians should be allowed or ICC should use its ruling on “personal message” extensively to ban stickers like ‘Om’ on Keshav Maharaj’s bat and others, as alluded directly through the hashtags.
Here it is important to note that Om is not banned under ICC regulations as its display is not in the furtherance of a political, religious, or racial cause.
The Aussie opener also shared an ICC ruling that bars cricketers from displaying “Personal messages” on their clothing or equipment.
Meanwhile, the ICC ruling which was also part of Khawaja’s post read, “Players and team officials shall not be permitted to wear, display or otherwise convey personal messages on their clothing, equipment or otherwise, irrespective of whether such messages are affixed to clothing, equipment or otherwise and whether such messages are displayed or conveyed through the use of the specific clothing or other items (eg. an armband) or by the use of words, symbol, graphic message, images or otherwise (‘personal messages’) unless approved in advance by both the player or team official’s board and the ICC Cricket Operations Department. Approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes.”
It further asserts that ICC will have the final say in determining whether such a message is approved.
His Instagram post is being seen as a direct reference to the ICC’s action against him for making a political statement in support of Palestine.
It is important to note that earlier this week Usman Khawaja was charged by the ICC for breaking regulations by wearing a black armband during the first Test against Pakistan at Perth without any prior approval.
He wore the black armband on the field instead of writing and wearing the message “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right” as he originally intended to do to extend support to the Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Though black armbands are regularly worn by players to mourn the deaths of former players, family members, or other significant individuals, they need permission from the national board and the ICC before they are worn.
An ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo, “Usman Khawaja has been charged for breaching Clause F of the Clothing and Equipment Regulations.”
Interestingly, he himself later clarified that the ICC action against him was due to a “personal bereavement“. He added that he would challenge the decision before revealing that he wouldn’t do the same in the MCG Test match.
Earlier, he was prevented from wearing shoes that had “All Lives are equal” inscribed in the colours of the Palestinian flag to support the Palestinian cause.
However, he defended his gesture in support of Palestine claiming that his move was not a political one. He said, “What I have written on my shoes is not political. I am not taking sides. Human life to me is equal. One Jewish life is equal to one Muslim life is equal to one Hindu life and so on. I am just speaking up for those who do not have a voice.”
