Usman Khawaja defends re-igniting ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal

Usman Khawaja insisted on Sunday he did not “throw anyone under the bus” by claiming the entire Australian team was in on the 2018 “Sandpapergate” plot and defended taking eight years to go public.

The retired batsman re-ignited the infamous ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town on Saturday ahead of the release of his autobiography this week, where a chapter is dedicated to the issue.

‘All of us knew’

He alleged that it was not just Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft – who were all subsequently banned -who were responsible.

“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,” he said.

Usman Khawaja claimed Australia also employed the tactic during the previous Test at Port Elizabeth.

In response Darren Lehmann, who was head coach at the time, denied there was widespread knowledge of the plot while Cricket Australia said it was “comfortable” with the findings of its original investigation.

That probe found only Smith, Warner and Bancroft were in the know.

“When I mentioned it was all of us, that’s implying that whether we like it or not, we’re all responsible for what happened together as a team,” Khawaja said in a lengthy two-part Instagram post on Sunday.

“We need to take that collectively. That is all.”

He added: “I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus.

“The guys that are currently in the team right now and the other people that were there on the South African tour, including me, we’re not the victims.

“These three guys (Smith, Warner and Bancroft) took the blame for all of us.

“They’re the victims … people telling them that they’re cheats, getting nailed by the crowd. Public humiliation.”

Denied it was a marketing ploy

Usman Khawaja, who retired this year after 88 Tests, defended waiting so long to make the claims, denying it was a marketing ploy to sell his book.

He said he wanted to go public in 2018 once Smith, Warner and Bancroft were suspended.

“But Smudge (Smith) being the man and leader he was, he talked me out of it.

“He wanted to take the blame. I argued with him, but he was having none of it. That’s the first time I tried to come out.”

Khawaja said he again almost spoke up in 2021 when bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all denied publicly that they knew about the ball-tampering.

But after extensive talks with then-coach Justin Langer he decided not to.

The 39-year-old said he never felt comfortable talking after that while back in the Australian team from 2022.

“Call me a chicken or whatever you want. I didn’t know how to do it because I was still in the team,” Usman Khawaja said.

“I was always conscious of putting my team first, but I’m not in that team anymore.”