"I stand by what I said, I will stand by that, I think forever," Aussie batter says in video message a day earlier       Australia batter Usman Khawaja is seen sporting a black armband during the first day of the first Test cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at Optus Stadium in Perth on December 14, 2023. — AFP

After he was warned against wearing shoes with rights-based slogans to adhere to rules set by the International Cricket Council (ICC), Australian batter Usman Khawaja Thursday recorded his protest by wearing a black armband on the first day of the Test against Pakistan in Perth.

While the Pakistan-born Australian cricketer had planned to wear his shoes for the match with slogans “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” scribbled on them, he was asked by Cricket Australia to abide by ICC's rules following which he issued a statement and resolved to fight the ICC’s mandate.

Khawaja could have faced sanctions from the ICC, which included being banned from taking the field, reprimand for a first offence or a 75 per cent match-fee fine, for wearing the shoes.

Players and officials are not allowed to display messages on their clothing or equipment unless given the nod in advance by their board or the ICC.

“I will try to (challenge the ICC) as soon as possible, whenever it is possible,” Khawaja told Channel 7 on Thursday.

“There already has been a precedent set in the past that ICC has allowed. A precedent set where players have done stuff in the past where the ICC hasn’t done anything.

“I find it a bit unfair that they have come down on me at this point where there definitely has been precedents in the past of similar things.

“I am a grown man I can do anything I want, but I think the ICC will keep coming down and giving me fines and at some point, it will detract from the game.

“I stand by what I said, I will stand by that, I think forever. For me, I need to get out there and concentrate on what I am doing but it is right at the forefront of my mind.”

Khawaja told Fox Cricket he was disappointed over how many people had been unsettled by his stance.

“I don’t really see the controversy of ‘all lives matter’ and saying ‘freedom is a human’ right. I don’t see where it becomes political,” he said.

“I find it hard to accept where people find what I said distasteful. No one is every going to agree with everyone, and I accept that. But it makes me feel a bit uneasy that people find those words uneasy.

“(But) I’ll always stand up for what I believe in even if people don’t agree with me and don’t like me saying it.”