Image courtesy of: The Telegraph
“I understand what Fawad is doing, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it”
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja has announced that he may follow team-mate Fawad Ahmed in removing the VB beer logo from his jersey, but added that cementing his place in the Ashes squad remains his top priority.
Khawaja, who became the first Muslim to represent Australia, revealed that he had considered whether he would be allowed to wear a jersey without the beer logo on numerous occasions.
“I understand what Fawad is doing, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it,” Khawaja told The Sydney Morning Herald. “I thought about it for this Ashes campaign. But I probably haven’t been in the Australian team for long enough to worry about it too much.”
Ahmed was allowed to wear a jersey without the beer logo earlier this year after explaining that it clashed with his religious beliefs.
However, this led to a massive dispute as many people stated that he should not accept sponsorship money from alcohol companies if he refuses to bear their logo on his jersey.
Khawaja also revealed that he had spoken to South Africa batsman Hashim Amla about the matter since he was exempted from having the Castle Lager logo on his jersey.
“He just said to me he doesn’t accept prize money from whoever their alcoholic sponsor is,” Khawaja said. “I assume if I ever did do it, that’s the path I’d lead. But at the moment it’s all about the cricket for me.”