"Inclusivity in the game and our values as a sport are so important"

Usman Khawaja has lauded Australian captain Pat Cummins' gesture after their historic 4-0 Ashes victory over England in Hobart on Sunday.

Khawaja, a Muslim by faith, jumped away from teammates as the Aussie cricketers popped up champagne bottles to celebrate the victory shortly after the post-match presentation ended.

The Queenslander was absent from the first photo taken with the trophy as David Warner poured champagne on his teammates. But Cummins was seen telling his teammates to stop the champagne celebrations and was quick to call Khawaja back into the huddle for the team photo.

As the cameras zoomed in on Cummins, Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head were also seen gesturing towards Khawaja to join the group back.

The 35-year-old believes this is a positive step towards inclusivity and treating everyone equally. Taking to Twitter, Usman Khawaja wrote:

"If this video doesn't show you that the boys have my back, I don't know what will. They stopped their normal champagne celebrations so I could rejoin. Inclusivity in the game and our values as a sport are so important. I feel like we are trending in the right direction."

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Usman Khawaja, the first Muslim cricketer to play for Australia, had earlier revealed his encounter with racism in his adopted country after he came Down Under from Pakistan in the early 1990s.

"When I was younger in Australia, the amount of time I got told I was never going to play for Australia, I'm not the right skin colour was immense. I'd get told I don't fit the team, and they wouldn't pick me. That was the mentality, but now it's starting to shift," Khawaja had said to ESPNCricinfo.

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The video of Pat Cummins ushering back Khawaja has gone viral on social media, with fans from all sections praising the Australian skipper and the team.

"You want to make sure everyone feels comfortable being themselves" - Cummins on gesture for Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja jumping out of the group before the champagne celebration

Elaborating on his gesture, Cummins stated that it was a special attempt to make everyone feel at home.

"We've got a really diverse bunch of people and you want to celebrate that and you want to make sure everyone feels comfortable being themselves. That was just one moment," Cummins told reporters in Hobart.

The 28-year-old added:

"The boys are fantastic in that space. They always look after each other. It's a really tight-knit group. I think one of the reasons is there is a lot of respect and love for each other. We had to make sure our teammate was in the photo with us."