Australian opening batsman Usman Khawaja
NZ vs AUS Test: The first match of the two-match Test series between Australia and New Zealand is being played at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. On the third day of this match, a sticker on the bat of the Australian batsman caught everyone’s attention. Australian opener Usman Khawaja had a sticker of a black pigeon on his bat. Controversy resurfaced over stickers. After this he was forced to remove the sticker from his bat during the match.
Had to remove the sticker from the bat
During Australia’s second innings on Saturday morning, Khawaja faced a difficult situation when his bat broke, due to which he ordered a new bat, but that new bat had a Black Dove sticker on it. After this he had to remove the Black Dove sticker from the bat. The 36-year-old player had to follow the rules and take off a sticker with a picture of a pigeon, before continuing his batting. The controversy arose after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Khawaja’s request to wear a pigeon sticker during the Test series against Pakistan, citing political opposition.
There has been chaos before too
Despite this decision, Khawaja continued to practice by wearing stickers during his net sessions. However, Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley and Test captain Pat Cummins showed their full support towards Khawaja and acknowledged his right to express himself. Khawaja was born in Islamabad and has been continuously protesting against the ongoing war in Gaza. He had earlier faced criticism from the ICC for wearing a black armband in the opening match of the series against Pakistan. Even at that time this issue was very hot.
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