PAK vs AUS: Usman Khawaja Receives Support From Pat Cummins After ICC Rejects His Application for Displaying A Dove Logo
Australian skipper Pat Cummins reckons there is no difference between Usman Khawaja’s dove logo on his shoe and bat to raise awareness of humanitarian issues and his teammate Marnus Labuschagne displaying an eagle on his bat. The eagle signifies a personal religious message. However, the ICC has rejected Khawaja’s application to display the logo during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG against Pakistan.
Usman Khwaja freshly applied to the ICC for displaying a logo of a black dove holding an olive branch on his shoe and his bat for supporting his cause on Humanitarian grounds. However, ICC rejected his plea on Sunday. The black dove is a reference to article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which reads, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
Usman Khawaja got the clearance for the logo from Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA). However, ICC denied his application stating, “Personal messages of this nature are not allowed as per Clause F of the Clothing and Equipment Regulations, which can be found on the ICC Playing Conditions page. The ICC is supportive of players using their platforms outside of the playing arena to promote human rights, peace and equality and would encourage him to continue to use alternative platforms.”
Marnus Labuschagne has an eagle sticker on the back of his bat which is a reference to a verse from the Holy Bible and he has been allowed to have the sticker on his bat for a long time. There are multiple advertising stickers on the bat of almost every Australian player, including Usman Khawaja, which is there to advertise their bat/kit sponsor and a secondary personal sponsor which is allowed by the ICC.
Pat Cummins Supports Usman Khawaja On His Dove Logo
Pat Cummins said on Christmas, 24 hours ahead of the Boxing Day Test that he saw no difference between Labuschagne displaying a religious reference and Usman Khawaja’s black dove logo referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He referred to the dove as ‘vanilla’ which in general terms means very uncontroversial and plain.
“Not really, no – I don’t know the ins and outs of the application, but I think it is pretty vanilla, a dove. We really support Uzzy, 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 are rules in place, so I believe the ICC has said they’re not going to approve that. They make up the rules and you’ve got to accept it,” Cummins said.
Prior to this Dove logo saga, Usman Khawaja was reprimanded by the ICC for wearing a black armband during the Perth Test. Australia will face Pakistan at the MCG in the second Test of the series which will commence on Boxing Day.
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Australia National Cricket Team Cricket Australia (CA) International Cricket Council (ICC) Marnus Labuschagne Pat Cummins Usman Khawaja
