File photo: Usman Khawaja (IANS)
Hyderabad: Eight years after the infamous ball-tampering scandal on Australia’s tour of South Africa, former Australian batter Usman Khawaja has made fresh revelations. He has claimed that the discussions about altering the nature of the ball were more widespread within the Australian dressing room than the investigation by Cricket Australia established.
In the excerpts from his upcoming autobiography published by the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, the left-handed batter said that the discussions around ball-tampering took place openly during the Test series against South Africa in 2018. He said that the players discussed different ways of roughing up the ball using sandpaper.
🚨 SHOCKING REVELATIONS BY USMAN KHAWAJA IN HIS BOOK. 🤯 – Khawaja claims that everyone in the Australian team knew about the 2018 sandpaper scandal. – He also claims that Australia had been involved in ball tampering even before the incident in which they were caught.🏏 https://t.co/gGflHDZo8Q
— Sports Reaction (@Aamirsohail409) November 7, 2026
“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,” Khawaja, 39, told the newspaper.
“In an ideal world, I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth. The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now.” he further added.
🚨 HUGE STATEMENT BY USMAN KHAWAJA. 🚨 “It was all of us involved in Sandpaper Gate. Not just the batters, bowlers or staff. All of us.” Usman Khawaja (Nine Papers). #UsmanKhawaja #SandpaperGate #Cricket https://t.co/Y6PuP1kxjs
— Cricket News (@I_am_Unkar_006) November 7, 2026
The statement is in contrast to the investigation done by Cricket Australia (CA) in 2018, where they mentioned that the prior knowledge of the plan was limited to three players: Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. However, Khawaja’s fresh claims have raised questions about the investigation.
Khawaja, who played 88 Tests for Australia, was cleared of any wrongdoing and retired in January from international cricket.
CA firm on 2018 investigation
After the latest claims, Cricket Australia maintained the stance that their findings are valid.
“All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered, and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process,” the governing body said in a statement on Saturday.
“There has been the ongoing opportunity to present any relevant information, and this remains the case,” it added.
In the aftermath of the 2018 investigation, the Australian cricket board handed bans and penalties to Smith, Warner and Bancroft.
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