Four instances when cricketers challenged ICC's political guidelines

Political speech has never been absent from international cricket. Cricket has long been utilized for international diplomacy, which has resulted in numerous disputes and it's not surprising for a game with colonial and imperial roots. After all, the former colonies utilized cricket as a main weapon to retaliate against their colonial masters.

Politics and cricket have crossed paths numerous times, with disastrous results. For example, the ICC's ban on South Africa during its infamous Apartheid system was a crucial way in which the country was isolated on the international scene. The civil strife in Sri Lanka nearly resulted in the non-selection of Tamil Muttiah Muralitharan, their star spinner, in 1996.

However, there have been times when ICC intervened or overlooked such incidents when players tried to use the cricket field as a platform to give politically charged messages. 

Here are some incidents when cricket became a political battleground:

1. Andy Flower and Henry Olonga

Andy Flower is by far the greatest batter produced by Zimbabwe and Henry Olonga was perhaps their fastest bowler at his peak. The duo was a prime reason, why Zimbabwe was considered to be one of the most dangerous sides in the 1990s in both Tests and ODIs. 

However, when the 2003 World Cup was hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, Olonga and Andy Flower decided to use the tournament to draw attention to the atrocities committed by then-Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe. They wore black armbands during Zimbabwe’s matches in the tournament. The ICC did nothing much than a slap to their wrist, but it led to them forming the ‘Clothing and Equipment Rules.’