The Sandpapergate controversy is back to life after Usman Khawaja’s revelations that the entire Australian team knew that the ball-tampering tactics were being employed in the penultimate and third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.
Excerpts from Khawaja’s upcoming autobiography, “Sabr,” published by the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) on Saturday, revealed that ball-tampering was attempted not only in the Cape Town Test but also in the game before. Darren Lehmann, former player and Aussie coach in 2018, rejected Khawaja’s claims later. Former England captain Michael Vaughan didn’t appear pleased with Khawaja’s revelations either.
Also Read: Darren Lehmann rejects Usman Khawaja’s “it was all of us” claims
Amid the media furore, Khawaja on Sunday released a video in which he stuck to his guns. “Alright, it’s time to clear up some facts because the media has taken this to the moon, as expected.
“I stayed quiet yesterday, but number one, if you read my article, you would have seen when I mentioned it was all of us that’s implying that, whether we like it or not, we are all responsible for what happened. Together, as a team, we need to take that collectively. That is all,” the former Aussie batter said.
“But now that everyone’s talking, am I going to deny that everyone knew? Nah. I won’t deny that either.
“But I never speak on behalf of anyone else in my book. Contrary to all the headlines the clickbait media would have you think. Don’t get caught up in this s***.”
Khawaja also dismissed accusations that he was making all the shocking claims eight years later because he wanted to sell his book. “What I say now isn’t a reflection of them anymore, and now my words don’t influence the team at all. I speak for myself.
“But even so, I refused to publish any of this while the boys were still in South Africa. That’s why I called Pat (Cummins).
“Why would someone who really wants to increase the sale of his book refuse the greatest marketing opportunity he has? I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus… those three guys [Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft] who took the blame for all of us, they’re the victims,” he said.
More revelations
Meanwhile, Code Sports has reported that the excerpts from the Khawaja autobiography also bring to light that two Aussie cricketers objected to his idea of taking collective responsibility after the Cape Town Test. “This was the most disappointing thing for me. I knew who those two guys were, and it was ludicrous; out of everyone, it was them. It showed me their true colours, though. When the going got tough, all they cared about was themselves. But I was not going to stop fighting this cause,” Khawaja wrote.