Usman Khawaja Defends Explosive Sandpaper Claims, Wants Australia To Share The Blame

Former Australia opener Usman Khawaja has strongly defended his explosive revelations about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, insisting that he never intended to single out anyone or throw his former teammates under the bus.

The controversy, popularly known as Sandpapergate, has resurfaced following excerpts from Khawaja's upcoming autobiography, Sabr, in which he claimed that the entire Australian team was aware of the ball-tampering tactics used during the South Africa tour.

Khawaja's revelations suggested that the incident was not limited to the infamous Cape Town Test, with sandpaper allegedly being used during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth as well. His comments attracted criticism from former Australia coach Darren Lehmann and ex-England captain Michael Vaughan, prompting the retired batter to release a video on social media to clarify his position.

Explaining what he meant by saying that the incident involved everyone, Khawaja stressed that his intention was to highlight collective responsibility rather than accuse individual players.

"If you read my article, you would have seen that when I mentioned it was all of us, I was implying that, whether we like it or not, we're all responsible for what happened together. As a team, we need to take that collectively. That is all," Khawaja said.

The former Australian opener also dismissed suggestions that he had deliberately targeted Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the three players who received suspensions and other disciplinary punishments following the 2018 scandal.

Khawaja expressed sympathy for the trio, arguing that they had carried the burden of the controversy for years despite his belief that responsibility should have been shared across the team.

"These three guys took the blame for all of us. They're the victims," Khawaja said, adding that the trio had endured abuse and scrutiny for eight years.

Khawaja Rejects Claims Of Using Scandal To Promote Autobiography

Khawaja also pushed back against suggestions that his decision to reveal the details eight years later was motivated by the release of his autobiography. He explained that he had deliberately waited until Australia's recent return to South Africa was over before making the revelations public.

The former batter maintained that his objective had always been to ensure the team accepted collective responsibility, rather than allowing three individuals to shoulder the consequences.

"I'm still searching for what I was searching for all those years ago: for us, me included, to take the blame together as a team, so we can all move on from this once and for all," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Khawaja's revelations have also brought to light disagreements within the Australian dressing room, with two players reportedly opposing his suggestion of collective responsibility after the Cape Town incident.