Usman Khawaja bats during day four of the Men’s First Test match between Australia and Pakistan on December 17. He has been charged by the ICC.Credit:Getty
If found guilty,the most severe sanction Khawaja can receive for a first offence is a reprimand,meaning he would be free to play in the Boxing Day Test. Under the ICC’s sanctions,even a fourth offence within 12 months would not incur a suspension,producing instead a fine of 75 per cent of his match fee.
“Usman Khawaja has been charged for breaching Clause F of the Clothing and Equipment Regulations,which can be found on the ICC Playing Conditions page. The sanctions for a breach of the regulations are outlined in Appendix 2,” an ICC spokesperson said in a statement sent to this masthead on Thursday night.
“Usman displayed a personal message (arm band) during the 1st Test Match against Pakistan without seeking the prior approval of Cricket Australia and the ICC to display it,as required in the regulations for personal messages. This is a breach under the category of an ‘other breach’ and the sanction for a first offence is a reprimand.”
It came as sources close to CA,who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter freely,saidKhawaja had already applied to the governing bodies for permission to spread his message at the MCG.
A CA spokesman would only say that discussions were taking place. At the time of publication an ICC spokesman was checking with the cricket council’s operations department to see if an application had been received.
Khawaja flew to Melbourne ahead of his Australian teammates to help launch CA’s Multicultural Action Plan,aimed at making cricket a more inclusive sport,today. The event will give Khawaja another platform to raise awareness about the loss of life in the Israel-Gaza conflict,which is expected to be the focus of the press conference.