ICC turns down Usman Khawaja's request to have peace symbol on bat

The International Cricket Council (ICC) Sunday denied permission to Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja to use a peace symbol on his bat and shoes for the second Test match against Pakistan set to take place on December 26 (Tuesday).

During training for the Boxing Day match in Melbourne, the batter sported a sticker on his bat and shoes showing a black dove and the words 01:UDHR — a reference to Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, AFP reported.

Khawaja has had multiple meetings with Cricket Australia in recent days to come up with an appropriate message that he can use during the second Test match, Australian media stated.

But his latest humanitarian gesture has been turned down by the ICC, The Australian and Melbourne Age newspapers reported.

The ICC was not immediately available for comment.

Khawaja, a Muslim, was stopped from wearing shoes emblazoned with the hand-written slogans "Freedom is a human right" and "All lives are equal" during the first Test in Perth. 

The 36-year-old had wanted to show his support for the people of Gaza amid the ongoing Israeli assault. 

But he was told they flouted ICC rules on messages that relate to politics, religion or race.

He wore a black armband during the match and was reprimanded by the ICC, but insisted afterwards it was for a "personal bereavement" and vowed to contest the ruling.

Khawaja spoke on Friday about how the Israel-Hamas conflict had affected him, saying he despaired at seeing how many children had been killed.

"When I'm looking at my Instagram and seeing innocent kids, videos of them dying, passing away, that's what hit me the hardest," he said.

"I don't have any agendas other than trying to shine a light on what I feel really passionately, really strongly about."