Australia's Khawaja claims entire team knew about 'Sandpapergate'

Former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja insisted on Saturday that every member of the national team was aware of the 2018 "Sandpapergate" scandal in Cape Town. Khawaja, who recently announced his retirement after playing 88 Tests, made these claims in an upcoming autobiography chapter. Captain Steve Smith, deputy David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were dismissed from the team following the discovery of the ball-tampering plot, with the investigation finding them to be the only three players with prior knowledge.

Smith was banned for a year and removed as captain, Warner was suspended for 12 months and stripped of all leadership roles, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban. However, former bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon denied in 2021 that they had any knowledge of the incident. Khawaja expressed his disappointment that it took eight years for the truth to emerge, hoping it would have been exposed earlier by someone like Warner.

Darren Lehmann, the head coach at the time, denied widespread knowledge of the plot, stating that he believes ball-tampering was once common in international cricket. He added that the issue is long behind him and that he has moved on with his life.