'He can hold his head high...': Pat Cummins throws weight behind Usman Khawaja after ICC rejects 'dove' message

Usman Khawaja's latest application to raise awareness about human rights by displaying an image of a dove and an olive branch on his bat and shoes ahead of the second Test against Pakistan has been rejected by the International Cricket Council (ICC). However, Australia captain Pat Cummins has insisted that the team stands firmly behind Khawaja's message.

The logo that Khawaja intended to display 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."

Cummins said in a press conference that while he doesn't know the ins and outs of the application, "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's rules in place, so I believe the ICC have said they're not going to approve that. They make up the rules and you've got to accept it," Cummins said.

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According to ESPNCricinfo, the ICC rejected Khawaja's latest application as it a violation of Clause F of the Clothing and Equipment Regulations. "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," an ICC spokesperson is quoted as saying.

“I’ve spoken to Uzzy a fair bit. I won’t go into too [much] depth, but it’s really similar to what he’s said publicly,” said Cummins. “He just sees all lives as equal, he sees the war there as a waste, and there’s a lot of loss that he’s trying to shine a light on that he thinks isn’t necessary. We support him.”