Cricket Australia has responded to Usman Khawaja’s explosive new claims about the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal. In his recently released autobiography Sabr, the former Australian opener alleged that the entire team, including the coaching staff, knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball.
Khawaja’s account contradicts Cricket Australia’s original investigation, which concluded that only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were involved. The bowling unit, comprising Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, was believed to have been unaware of the plan.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has now dismissed the possibility of reopening the investigation, saying there was no advantage in revisiting the controversy. He maintained that the board stood by its original process and wanted Australian cricket to move forward.
Khawaja and Warner have both questioned the investigation, with Khawaja describing the process as flawed. He also revealed that although he was seated beside Bancroft during the hearing, investigators never asked him a single question.
The former opener further alleged that he had attempted to reveal the truth twice, initially immediately after the incident and again in 2021. However, he claimed that Smith prevented him from speaking out on the first occasion, while a statement issued by Australia's bowling group denying involvement stopped him the second time.
Speaking to SEN's Adam White on Tuesday, Greenberg said he respected Khawaja for presenting his perspective but cautioned against forming opinions based solely on headlines surrounding the autobiography.
"I read his comments over the weekend in the media, exactly the same time as the public and I'll obviously get to read his book at some point," Greenberg said.
He added that certain details in Khawaja's account contradicted statements made by other individuals and said he wanted to understand the former opener's actual claims rather than react to media coverage and subsequent discussions.
Greenberg insisted that players had been given opportunities to share their accounts during the original investigation and had continued to have opportunities to speak about the incident over the past eight years.
"There’s absolutely no benefit going back. That's the position of the CA board, it's time to look ahead," he said.
The Cricket Australia chief also suggested that conflicting accounts could emerge as more members of the team publish their autobiographies.
"I'm sure David will release a book, and I've no doubt that several others of these champion group of Australian cricketers will release a book," Greenberg said.
He added that captain Pat Cummins and other former teammates could also publish their versions of events, potentially resulting in several different narratives about the scandal.
KHAWAJA'S VERSION OF SANDPAPERGATE
In his autobiography, Khawaja has argued that responsibility for the events in Cape Town in 2018 went beyond Smith, Warner and Bancroft.
"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja told Nine ahead of the book's release.
The former Australian opener said he had never wanted to reopen the controversy but felt compelled to speak because the truth had remained undisclosed for too long.
He explained that he had hoped the complete story would have emerged within eight years and that he did not particularly want to be the person bringing the matter back into the spotlight.
Following the reaction to his statements, Khawaja also posted a clarification on Instagram, emphasising that his book did not claim to speak for other members of the team.
He said he was not denying that everyone knew about the incident but stressed that he had never claimed to represent anyone else's perspective in his autobiography. He also criticised sections of the media for drawing conclusions through sensational headlines.
The Sandpapergate controversy erupted during the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, when television footage showed Bancroft using sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.
The scandal had serious consequences for Australian cricket. Smith, who was captain at the time, Warner and Bancroft received suspensions, while Smith and Warner were also removed from their leadership positions.
The incident remains among the most damaging controversies in Australian cricket history, and Khawaja's latest revelations have once again raised questions about the extent of involvement within the team and the credibility of Cricket Australia's original investigation.
