Key Points
- Cricket great Mike Hussey has praised his former teammate for "sticking true to what he believes in".
- Khawaja was banned from wearing an image of a dove on his boot on the field to draw attention to suffering in Gaza.
- The batter instead walked onto the field at Tuesday's Boxing Day Test with his children's names on his boots.
Usman Khawaja continues to receive support from Australian cricketers past and present after a new attempt by the batter to show his support for those suffering in Gaza was denied.
Khawaja had hoped to use images of a dove holding an olive branch, as well as a reference to article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on his bat and one of his boots in the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan on Tuesday.
The plan was part of Khawaja's renewed push to raise awareness for what he sees as a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The 37-year-old's opening partner David Warner backed up Australian cricket great Mike Hussey's sentiments about Khawaja after stumps at the MCG on Boxing Day.
It comes after Khawaja was charged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for wearing a black armband during the first Test in Perth.
Before that match, Khawaja wrote on his boots "All lives are equal" and "Freedom is a human right" but was warned against displaying those messages and used tape over his shoes before play.
Khawaja and Cricket Australia (CA) had been working with the ICC during the past week to find a way for the left-hander to show his support without being "divisive".
Warner says Khawaja's always been a 'leader'
Warner, who put on a 90-run stand with Khawaja on Tuesday, believed his long-time teammate was "fine" and the saga hadn't taken a toll on him.
"With him, he wouldn't have made that statement if he didn't feel like he could take the criticism. He's a big boy," he said.
"I just said to him you've got to keep believing in what you believe in and move on and get on with cricket, and he's done that pretty well.
"That's just how Uzzy is, he's always been a leader around the group.
"He's got a lot of respect from a lot of people."
Hussey says he 'respects' Khawaja's actions
"I think his real authentic self is coming out - this is who Uzzy is," Hussey said on Tuesday after being confirmed he would be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
"He's very passionate in his beliefs, his morals and his values and he's not afraid to put them out there.
"I'm quite proud of him actually. I don't think he's trying to be divisive or political or anything like that ... I respect what he's done."
Khawaja has called out inconsistency from the ICC with how the governing board enforces its own rules.
On Monday, the 68-Test veteran uploaded a post of other international cricketers displaying messages on their bats.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley had supported Khawaja with his application to the ICC.
"Over the last week or so we've been working really constructively with Uz, really to find a way that again is non-partisan," he said on Tuesday.
"That being said, the ICC have got their rules and think they explained their rationale really clearly and we respect that.
"What we've been really clear about is that we support Uzzy and all our players really to share what they believe over their own channels."
Cummins describes Khawaja's dove symbol as 'pretty vanilla'
Australian captain Pat Cummins backed Khawaja on Monday, describing the dove symbol as "pretty vanilla" and said it was "not really" any different to observant Christian Labuschagne's eagle, which represents a Bible verse.
Pat Cummins said he supports his teammate's right to have strong beliefs, but accepts the governing body's ruling. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
"(His initial message was) '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. I think he can really hold his head high with the way he's gone about it.
"But obviously there's rules in place and 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."
