Pakistan star all-rounder came out in support of Australian opener Usman Khawaja amidst his conflict with ICC
New Delhi: Australian opener Usman Khawaja has been all over the headlines since his appeal to wear shoes with “All Lives Are Equal’ written on them. However, following ICC’s refusal, Khawaja chooses to wear a black armband during the first Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The Aussie once again fell in trouble with cricket’s top governing body after ICC charged the Australian opener for wearing a black armband during the first Test. After Usman came out and said he had no hidden agenda and was only doing this to pay homage to all the kids who lost their lives in war.
“I don’t have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strongly about. What I wore on my shoes was really.. I thought about it for a while, what I was going to write. I made sure that I didn’t want to segregate different parts of the population, religious beliefs, communities. Hence, I have kept religion out of this. I am talking about humanitarian issues. I am talking about Article 1 of the unified declaration of human rights. That is literally the crux of it,” said Khawaja in a video posted by cricket.com.au.
U are an inspiration brother @Uz_Khawaja pic.twitter.com/3HHxvzLT4z
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) December 22, 2023
“The reason I’m doing it is because it hit me hard. When I am looking at my Instagram and I’m seeing kids, innocent kids, videos of them, dying, passing away, that’s what’s hit me hardest. I just imagine my young daughter in my arms and the same thing. For me, that’s the reason I am doing this. I don’t have any hidden agendas. If anything, this brings up more negativity towards me,” he added.
Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan also came out in support of Usman Khawaja and posted his video by captioning it “U are an inspiration brother”.