Usman Khawaja Denies Blaming Individuals for 2018 Ball-Tampering
Usman Khawaja insisted on Sunday that he did not “throw anyone under the bus” by claiming the entire Australian team was involved in the 2018 “Sandpapergate” plot. The retired batsman also defended waiting eight years to make his comments public.
Comments Ahead of Autobiography Release
Khawaja re-ignited the infamous ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town on Saturday. This came ahead of the release of his autobiography this week, which includes a chapter dedicated to the issue.
He alleged that it was not only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft who were responsible. All three were subsequently banned.
“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,” he said.
Previous Test at Port Elizabeth
Khawaja claimed Australia also used the tactic during the previous Test match at Port Elizabeth.
Response from Cricket Australia and Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann, who was head coach at the time, denied there was widespread knowledge of the plot. Cricket Australia said it was “comfortable” with the findings of its original investigation.
That investigation found only Smith, Warner and Bancroft knew about the plan.
“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 Instagram post on Sunday.
Khawaja’s Full Statement
“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.”
Why He Waited Eight Years
Khawaja, who retired this year after playing 88 Tests, defended waiting so long to make the claims. He denied it was a marketing ploy to sell his book.
He said he wanted to go public in 2018 after 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 almost spoke up again in 2021 when bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon publicly denied knowing about the ball-tampering.
However, after extensive talks with then-coach Justin Langer, he decided not to speak.
The 39-year-old said he never felt comfortable talking after that while he was 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,” Khawaja said. “I was always conscious of putting my team first, but I’m not in that team anymore.”
Source: dawn