First Muslim cricketer to represent Australia to challenge pro-Palestine shoe ban

14.12.2023 - 15:35 arabnews.com

LONDON: Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has vowed to challenge an International Cricket Council directive that prohibits him from wearing shoes with messages deemed “political” during the upcoming first Test against Pakistan, The Telegraph reported.

During training in Perth on Tuesday, Khawaja was seen wearing spikes featuring the phrases “all lives are equal” and “freedom is a human right,” in solidarity with the Palestinians suffering under Israel’s war on Gaza.

The two-month-long campaign of airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza has killed more than 18,500 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Palestinian officials.

Khawaja, who was the first Muslim cricketer to represent Australia, had planned to wear these shoes in the first Test starting on Thursday.

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