Pat Cummins made an outstanding start to his captaincy stint, winning the high-profile Ashes series in dominant fashion. However, it was his special gesture towards teammate Usman Khawaja that won many hearts. Post the presentation, the Australians were handed the trophy, their players were ready to burst open champagne bottles but Pat Cummins signalled them to keep their bottles away and told Usman Khawaja to rejoin the group, keeping his religious aspect in mind. After the video went viral, Khawaja esponded to the incident, claiming that it demonstrates that the Australian players support him. Khawaja said "inclusivity" is really crucial in the game adding "I feel that we are trending in the right direction. "Usman Khawaja made a memorable comeback to Australia’s Test team after three years during the fourth match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground by scoring a century in both innings. He was then accommodated as an opener for the fifth Test match, as Travis Head returned from missing the SCG Test due to testing COVID positive.
Two years ago, county team Essex sparked a row after the Bob Willis Trophy final after one of the players poured alcohol on his teammates. While such celebrations have been a part of the English cricketing culture for many years, the celebration became a moment of controversy because a Muslim player named Feroze Khushi was also part of the huddle that took in alcohol over his head by their teammate. While 21-year-old Feroze Khushi was not part of Essex’ final playing XI, the right-handed batsman had represented his side in the earlier stages of the recently-concluded Bob Willis Trophy. Later, Essex Cricket Club released an official statement. The club said “as an organisation, Essex County Cricket Club prides themselves on their work within multi-diverse communities throughout the county and the surrounding areas”, thus referring to the presence of players from different cultural backgrounds in their set-up. Speaking about the Bob Willis Trophy’s celebration controversy, the club revealed they will further work on widening their people’s knowledge for creating cultural awareness and they are currently in dialogue with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
