- Batsman stood out among his teammates at the SCG
- Australia looks to win highly competitive series 3-1
Usman Khawaja chose to wear a black armband in the Sydney Test against India to commemorate the tragic death of the wife of his former teammate, South African star Ashwell Prince.
Melissa Prince lost her battle with cancer on Sunday at just 40 years old, leaving her husband and three children devastated.
Khawaja met Prince, who played 66 Tests and 52 one-day internationals for his country between 2002 and 2011, when they were both playing for English club Lancashire.
On Thursday, Prince paid a heartbreaking tribute to Melissa on Instagram.
“It was extremely difficult to watch you endure as much pain as you did in the last few months of your life,” he wrote.
But we choose to remember you the same way we knew you. A gem, one of those rare guys who touched people’s hearts in a special way wherever you went.
Usman Khawaja (left) was the only Australian player to wear a black armband on the first day of the fifth Test against India at the SCG on Friday.
The batsman wore the stripe as a show of respect after the wife of a former teammate died aged 40 earlier this week.
‘We miss you mom and we can hardly believe you’re gone. But you have left a mark on all our hearts that can never be erased.
‘Happy new year my love. Rest in peace up there, your children will always love you!’
Khawaja was the only member of the Australian team to wear the armband when they took part in the SCG for the fifth Test against India on Friday.
In 2014, the Australian star denied a report calling out Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale for allegedly making a shocking racist comment about Prince during a match.
Khawaja and Prince were Lancashire’s two prominent and renowned recruits when they were promoted to division one that year.
This is not the first time that the first batter stands out from his teammates by wearing a black armband.
Khawaja’s former teammate, South African star Ashwell Prince, is pictured with his late wife Melissa and one of their children.
In December last year, the 37-year-old was accused of wearing the armband to make a political statement about the war in Palestine during the first Test against Pakistan.
Khawaja was reprimanded for breaching Clause F of the International Cricket Council’s Clothing and Equipment Regulations, with the ICC deeming the armband a “personal message” despite the opening batsman telling officials he did not wear it. for political reasons, after using the words “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” in a training session.
“I followed all the regulations, the previous precedents, the guys put stickers on their bats, names on their shoes,” he said.
‘As I told the ICC, it was because of a personal duel. The bracelet was different from my shoes.
‘My shoes are very obvious. And at the end of the day, I didn’t put on my shoes, I changed my mind respecting the rules and procedures and left it at that.’