Star batsman Usman Khawaja has responded to criticism after the Australian cricket team did not celebrate their World Test Championship victory with a champagne shower celebration out of respect for his faith.
The star batter has shared an image of him drinking a diet coke from inside the team’s dressing room celebrations following their World Test Championship final triumph over India in London.
Photos show Khawaja holding the ICC World Test Championship Mace in one hand and his soft drink of choice in the other.
His post comes after the team was dragged into a storm surrounding its decision to celebrate without champagne during the official trophy presentations on Sunday night.
It was a Twitter post by former UK politician Nigel Farage that resulted in the celebrations suddenly becoming a social media scandal. “Once again the Australian cricket team do not celebrate in champagne style because 1 of the team members is a Muslim,” the ex-UK Independence Party leader wrote. “Are we all to suspend normal life because of the minority?”
This was not the first time that Khawaja’s teammates abstained from the champagne celebration on the podium out of respect for him.
Early last year, as the Australian cricket team celebrated their Ashes victory with bottles of champagne, Khawaja jumped off to the side.
Meanwhile, the Aussie team was spotted later in the night gathering in a huddle on the turf at The Oval to sing its traditional song ‘Under the Southern Cross I Stand’.
