Ahead of the final Test of the series between Pakistan and Australia, the country's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has come out in support of batter Usman Khawaja.
Addressing both the teams in Sydney, Albanese lauded Khawaja, 'I'd like to congratulate Usman Khawaja for the courage he has shown standing up for human values. He has shown courage, and the fact that the team has backed him in is a great thing.'
The premier's comments come after Khawaja was barred twice by the International Cricket Council (ICC) while attempting to show solidarity with the people of Gaza, marred by Israeli bombing.
Before the opening Test last month, Khawaja had revealed that his shoes had two slogans, 'All lives are equal' and 'Freedom is a human right'. But the ICC had banned him from doing so.
He eventually donned a black armband and was reprimanded for breaching ICC's clothing and equipment regulations.
In the second Test, the Aussie opener wanted to sport a sticker of a dove holding an olive branch on his bat but was not allowed by the apex body.
In a social media video, Khawaja has vowed to fight against the ICC rulings regarding support messages and has been backed by his captain Pat Cummins as well as Australian Sports Minister Anika Wells.