Usman Khawaja has defended the decision to reveal explosive new claims about Australia’s ball-tampering scandal, saying he was persuaded not to speak publicly about it eight years ago.
The former Test batter made the comments a day after alleging that sandpaper was used during the Test match before the infamous Cape Town incident in 2018, and insisting the wider team carried responsibility.
In a five-minute video posted to Instagram, Khawaja said he intended to address the scandal publicly just days after Steve Smith was suspended, but was convinced to remain silent by the then-Australian captain.
He also described a second effort in 2021 to establish that responsibility extended beyond the three players punished, only for the team’s bowlers to issue a public statement denying they knew about the plan.
Khawaja said he had promised his childhood friend David Warner that he would reveal the full story after retiring. He believed Warner, Smith and Cameron Bancroft had been left to carry the blame for the entire team.
‘I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus,’ Khawaja said.
‘The players who are currently in the team, as well as those who were on the South African tour, including me, are not the victims.
‘Those three players took the blame for all of us. They are the victims — being branded cheats, abused by crowds and subjected to public humiliation.’
Usman Khawaja says his explosive ball-tampering claims were not intended to blame individuals or undermine his former teammates
Excerpts from Khawaja’s memoir, Sabr, due to be published on Tuesday, claim an Australian player used sandpaper on the ball in the dressing room during the second Test against South Africa at St George’s Park in 2018.
According to Khawaja, teammates noticed how dramatically one side of the ball had been roughened and understood how much movement it could produce. He says Bancroft then volunteered to use the substance.
Khawaja claims the practice was initially carried out only at the beginning of sessions, before the team took to the field. He alleges it later moved on to the field itself during the next Test in Cape Town.
He further alleges that a member of Australia’s coaching staff encouraged Bancroft to intensify whatever he was doing to the ball, before television cameras and match officials exposed the scheme.
In his Sunday video, Khawaja said he would not dispute the suggestion that the wider team knew what was happening. He also explained that he wanted to speak out in 2018 after Smith, Warner and Bancroft were suspended.
‘I told Smudge (Smith) that I was going to tell the media the truth,’ Khawaja said.
‘I couldn’t believe the penalties he received. But Smudge, as the leader and person he was, persuaded me not to do it.
‘He wanted to accept the blame. I argued with him, but he would not change his mind. That was the first time I tried to speak out.’
Sandpaper was used to alter the ball during Australia’s 2018 series against South Africa, although only three players publicly accepted responsibility
Khawaja said Steve Smith, pictured, persuaded him not to reveal what he knew shortly after the 2018 scandal
Khawaja said he held detailed discussions in 2021 with then-coach Justin Langer and Todd Greenberg about the team accepting collective responsibility. Greenberg was chief executive of the players’ union at the time and is now Cricket Australia’s chief executive.
The 39-year-old said he remained uncomfortable discussing the matter publicly while he was still part of the Australian side, having returned to the team in 2022.
He also argued that waiting until after Australia’s Test tour of South Africa last month to publish the book demonstrated that the revelations were not motivated by financial gain.
‘You can call me a coward or say whatever you like. I did not know how to handle it while I was still in the team,’ Khawaja said.
‘I was always determined to put my team first, but I am no longer part of that side. What I say now is not a reflection on them.
‘I have stood up for cricketers before through the ACA, fighting for what I believed was right. This is no different.
‘Those three players deserve justice, and I have not accused anyone.’
Khawaja has also questioned Cricket Australia’s handling of the Cape Town investigation, including the fact that he was never interviewed.
Cricket Australia has continued to say it is ‘comfortable’ with its 2018 conclusion that only Warner, Smith and Bancroft were aware of the plan.
Other members of the team, including bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, have denied knowing that ‘a foreign substance’ was being taken onto the field.