After being asked to not sport the shoes with the "all lives are equal" message by the International Cricket Council, Australia's opening batter Usman Khawaja donned a black armband to the field while batting against Pakistan in the opening Test of the three-match series in Perth on Thursday (December 14).
Khawaja walked out to bat in the middle alongside his opening partner and added a remarkable 126 runs for the first wicket to get the hosts off to a sensational start after skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat first.
Khawaja scored 41 off 98 balls with the help of six fours and kept the Pakistani bowlers at bay during his stay at the crease before nicking one to wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed behind the wicket off Shaheen Afridi.
Notably, he had plans of wearing the shoes with the "all lives are equal" message during the first Test but ICC's intervention foiled his plans as the apex cricketing governing body doesn't allow players at the international level to voice their support for a political or a religious cause in any shape or form.
"I find it a little bit disappointing they came down hard on me and they don't always come down hard on everyone," Khawaja told Channel 7 before the start of play on Day 1.
Khawaja's stand has come amid an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas (recognised as a terrorist organisation by a lot of countries) that has witnessed bloodshed in Gaza and Israel. The ongoing armed struggle has resulted in the deaths of thousands and isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
Pakistan's playing XI for the Perth Test:
Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad
Australia's playing XI for the Perth Test:
David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
