SYDNEY : Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja on Sunday denied throwing anyone “under the bus” after an excerpt from his upcoming autobiography claimed the entire team knew about the ball-tampering scandal during Australia’s 2018 tour of South Africa.
The scandal, dubbed “Sandpapergate”, erupted during the third test in Cape Town in March 2018, when Australian players were caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball, triggering a major crisis for Cricket Australia.
However, only then-captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, who was caught with sandpaper in his pocket, received bans for their involvement.
In a video posted on Instagram, Khawaja, who released an excerpt from his autobiography on Saturday, said he had wanted to tell his side of the story since the incident in 2018.
“I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus,” said the 39-year-old, who retired from international cricket in January.
“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 (Bancroft, Warner and Smith) took the blame for all of us, and they’re the victims.”
Khawaja said he had spoken with the three players involved in the scandal and had promised Warner that he would share his perspective on the incident.
“These three guys deserve justice. And I haven’t pointed fingers at anyone,” he added.
“I’m still searching for what I was searching 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.”
Australia’s test team returned to South Africa for the first time since the 2018 scandal last month but lost the three-match series 2-1.
The tour was overshadowed in part by renewed discussion of Sandpapergate and anticipation surrounding the release of Khawaja’s autobiography.
