Usman Khawaja Refuses to Say If Teammates Knew About Sandpapergate

Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has declined to provide further details after making the explosive claim that the wider national team knew about the 2018 sandpaper scandal.

Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner have traditionally been held responsible for using sandpaper to alter the ball during the third Test of Australia’s 2018 tour of South Africa.

But Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January, has written in a new book that the entire squad was aware of the plan.

The allegation has placed renewed attention on Pat Cummins, who was part of the team at the time and is now Australia’s captain.

During an interview with Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday, Khawaja refused to expand on his claims or identify who may have known about the ball-tampering scheme.

He said he did not want to escalate a controversy that had already caused considerable damage.

‘I’m not here to inflame the situation any more,’ Khawaja said.

‘It has never been about pointing fingers and saying, “He did this” or “He said that.” Even when I first wrote my edit, there were names and plenty of detail, but I pulled it back.’

‘Sometimes I’m very specific and sometimes I’m deliberately vague because I’m trying to tell a story.’

Usman Khawaja (above) would not answer further questions after alleging that the entire Australian team knew about the 2018 sandpaper scandal

ABC presenter Sarah Ferguson (above) asked whether current Australia captain Pat Cummins knew about the ball-tampering plan

‘My main objective has always been to ensure that responsibility is accepted by the team as a whole.’

Ferguson pressed him for more detail, asking: ‘Can you give us a sense of what you actually saw?’

She specifically raised the names of Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, all of whom had previously denied knowing about the sandpapering.

‘I’m not going to entertain that,’ Khawaja replied. ‘I wrote it in my book because that was a safe space for me to put it.’

‘It took me a long time to write the chapter initially, then revisit it and find a way to make it as balanced as possible.’

‘I did the best I could while still trying to be open and honest about what I saw and how things unfolded.’

Ferguson continued to seek a direct answer, telling Khawaja: ‘You say you want to ensure the responsibility does not rest only with those three players. That means other people must accept responsibility too.

‘I want to put this plainly so there can be no misunderstanding about your claim.’

Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner were blamed after Bancroft (right) was caught altering the ball with sandpaper

Bancroft was filmed tampering with the ball (above) during the third Test of Australia’s 2018 South Africa tour

‘Did Australia captain Pat Cummins know in advance that sandpaper was being used to change the ball’s surface?’

Khawaja gave a firm reply: ‘I’m not going to answer that.’

‘I’ve written what I’ve written in my book. I’ve stood by those three players and given my account of what I saw.’

‘I’m not going to speculate on behalf of anyone else, and I made that clear when I wrote the book.’

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Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said on Tuesday morning that the governing body had no plans to reopen its investigation.

That inquiry concluded that only Bancroft, captain Smith and vice-captain Warner knew about the ball-tampering plan.

Warner later wrote on Instagram that Khawaja’s account was ‘100 per cent accurate’ and described Cricket Australia’s investigation as ‘rushed and botched’.

Starc rejected Khawaja’s version of events, although he admitted he had not followed much of the reporting surrounding the book.

Khawaja (above) said he felt able to make the allegation after retiring in January because ‘I don’t speak for the team anymore’

‘There are obviously different views compared with what was said about eight years ago.’

‘We were questioned extensively during the process at the time and since then.’

‘I won’t speak for the other bowlers, but my position has not changed. My recollection remains the same as what we said in 2021.’

Alyssa Healy, Starc’s wife and a former Australia international, called the timing of Khawaja’s book ‘a little bit stinky’, though she said she would have no issue working with him.

‘The timing is a little bit stinky. I don’t like that. It is coming after South Africa, and that period did not end well for the boys,’ she said on the Keepin’ It Cricket podcast.

‘But I’m not someone who worries about sitting next to anyone in the commentary box, regardless of who they are. We are a team,’ Healy added.

‘From where I stand, it may feel a little closer to home for me than it does for some of the other commentators.’

‘Most of the men back there are saying, “Let’s move on and get back to cricket.” From my perspective, I am completely comfortable working alongside them.’

Warner, pictured in 2018, later said on Instagram that Khawaja’s allegations were ‘100 per cent accurate’

Khawaja had previously rejected suggestions that he was using the ball-tampering controversy to generate publicity and boost book sales, insisting: ‘I don’t need the money.’

He repeated that position on Tuesday, saying he chose to make the allegation now because he was no longer part of Australia’s team.

‘Whether I wrote about sandpaper or not would not have made the slightest difference,’ Khawaja said.

‘The reason I felt more comfortable saying it now is that I no longer speak for the team.’

‘If I had done this while I was still involved with the team, they would have had to see me every day and we would still have needed to function together. I don’t think that would have been possible.’

‘I don’t speak for the team anymore. They don’t have to see me, they don’t have to be around me, and they can move on.’

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