Usman Khawaja has rejected suggestions that he has pointed fingers at former teammates by claiming the entire Australia side bore responsibility for the 2018 ball-tampering episode. In a series of Instagram videos, the retired batsman said his remarks about the sandpaper scandal responsibility were meant to spread accountability across the group, not to single out individuals.
Khawaja’s autobiography, Sabr, and an accompanying interview with the Sydney Morning Herald argued that all players in the team should share the blame for the plan to scuff the ball with sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. At the time, only captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft faced sanctions.
Clarification on Collective Blame
In the videos posted on Sunday, Khawaja explained that when he said “all of us” were responsible, he was not accusing every player of knowing about the specific plot. Rather, he meant that the team as a unit must own what happened. He also insisted he was not speaking for anyone else in his book, and criticised what he called clickbait headlines for distorting his words.
“I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus,” Khawaja said, adding that he deliberately waited until Australia’s recent Test series in South Africa had finished before making his comments public.
The 39-year-old, who retired from international cricket in January with 6,229 runs from 88 Tests, described Smith, Warner and Bancroft as the victims who shouldered the punishment for the wider group. He said he too had endured sleepless nights over the affair but had chosen not to speak out earlier because he did not want to be the first player to raise the subject while still part of the team.
Bowlers and Coach Push Back
Khawaja’s version of events has been contested by other figures from that Cape Town Test. The four bowlers who played in the match – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon – issued a joint statement in 2021 saying they were unaware that a foreign substance had been taken on to the field. Cummins has captained Australia since 2021.
Darren Lehmann, the coach who resigned after the scandal, also disputed Khawaja’s claim on Saturday, telling ABC that he did not believe everyone in the team would have known about the plan.
Cricket Australia has given no indication that it will reopen its investigation into the Newlands Test. In a statement, the governing body said there had been extensive speculation in the eight years since the match and that it remained open to receiving relevant information. It added that all material presented so far had been properly considered and that it was comfortable with the findings of its integrity process.
Khawaja also addressed why he did not reveal his account immediately after the incident or in the years that followed, saying he did not know how to bring it up while some teammates were unwilling to discuss it. His autobiography, which prompted the latest round of debate, had been discussed with Cummins in a meeting before the South Africa tour, which Australia lost 2-1.
