Blackcaps spin-bowler Ajaz Patel has called for peace in Gaza, at a time when cricket's global governing body is banning onfield political statements.
The International Cricket Council has told Australian batter Usman Khawaja he can't wear boots saying 'All Lives Are Equal'.
Patel says he'd consider that sentiment, in an effort to push peace in the Middle East.
As competitive as he is, Patel knows there are no winners in war.
"It's tough to watch and we just want it to end," he told Newshub.
The international cricketer has spent time with schoolkids to launch the Super Smash T20 competition and, as a father, it's the children he feels for most in Gaza.
"Peace is really important," he said. "It hurts to see any child, any parent, go through what people around the world are going through at the moment."
Patel knows how crucial it is to use his voice.
"If we see something wrong, we should stand up as a collective and I suppose that's what humanity is about."
He's not the only cricketer who feels that way. Before Australia's first test against Pakistan at Perth, Khawaja trained with humanitarian phrases written on his shoes.
"I stand by what I said," he said. "I'll stand by it, I think, forever."
Khawaja's boots were clean when he took the field, after Cricket Australia issued a reminder of the ICC ban on political slogans on equipment, although he did don a black armband and will fight the ICC stance
"I find it's a bit unfair that they've come down on me in this point in time, when there's precedents in the past of similar things," he said.
The ICC permitted players to show solidarity for the 'Black Lives Matter' movement by taking a knee before some matches in 2020/21.
Despite the official stance, Patel doesn't rule out a public show of support to those suffering through the conflict.
"I mean, I'm a very emotional person, and everything I say or do comes from the heart," he said. "If it's something I decide to do at some point, then I'll do it.
"There's lives that are being lost on both sides of the border. Any innocent life being lost is a life too many."
That appeal goes beyond the boundary.
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