Australia captain Pat Cummins threw his support behind star opener Usman Khawaja, saying his bid to bring attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was “not offensive”, AFP reports.

“We really support Uzzy. He’s standing up for what he believes and I think he’s done it really respectfully,” Cummins told reporters on the eve of the Test in Melbourne.

“As I said last week, ‘All lives are equal’, I don’t think that’s very offensive and I’d say the same about the dove.

“That’s Uzzy. I think he can really hold his head high with the way he’s gone about it. “But obviously there’s rules in place and I believe the ICC have said they’re not going to approve that. They make up the rules and you’ve got to accept it.”