Australian Test star Usman Khawaja has been forced to remove a sticker protesting human rights from his bat during the first Test against New Zealand.
The opener peeled the sticker off in the morning session on day three after needing to change bats because of a crack in the wood.
Khawaja risked sanction if he did not take the sticker off after an ICC ruling in 2023.
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What was on Usman Khawaja's bat?
The sticker Khawaja featured on his second bat was the black silhouette of a dove holding an olive branch.
The dove image is often associated as a symbol of peace, and this particular emblem is designed to raise awareness for the humanitarian disaster in Palestine.
Khawaja has often protested world events, particularly the treatment of Palestine at the hands of Israel.
Khawaja has a crack in his bat and has to take the unapproved human rights dove sticker off the new bat before continuing. He was using that one in training #NZvAUS https://t.co/1vVBpEckle pic.twitter.com/geXFtfLXnU
— Daniel Brettig 🏏 (@danbrettig) March 1, 2024
Why did Usman Khawaja have to remove the sticker?
Prior to the recent home Test series, Khawaja asked the ICC if he could display the dove sticker on his bat during matches.
The request was rejected by cricket's governing body.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said at the time: "The symbol of the dove is an universally recognised symbol of peace."
"That being said, the ICC have got their rules and think they explained their rationale really clearly and we respect that.
ICC history with protest messages
The ICC's decision making on protest messages appears to be carefully cultivated.
In 2020, West Indies players were permitted to wear 'Black Lives Matter' logos on their shirts during a Test series against England.
However in line with Khawaja's denial, the ICC banned England's Moeen Ali from wearing wristbands that said "Save Gaza" and "Free Palestine" during a game versus Indi in 2014.
Australian captain Pat Cummins was also perplexed as to why Khawaja wasn't allowed the dove logo, but team-mate Marnus Labuschagne could display a bible-related image on his bat.
When asked if there was a difference between Khawaja and Labuschagne's messages, Cummins said:
"Not really, no - I don't know the ins and outs of the application, but I think 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."
