The former cricketer, in his new book Sabr, has claimed that the entire Australian team, including the coaching staff, knew that the team was using sandpaper to rough up the ball.The claim directly contradicts Cricket Australia's investigation at the time, which found that only three players, Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, were involved. The bowling group, which included Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, was understood to have had no knowledge of the ball-tampering plot.Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has now responded to Khawaja's claims, saying there was absolutely no benefit in reopening the investigation.
He added that the board remained satisfied with its process and wanted Australian cricket to look ahead rather than revisit the controversy.Khawaja and Warner have both questioned the investigation, with the former claiming that the entire process was botched. Khawaja has said that despite sitting next to Bancroft during the hearing, he was not asked a single question.
The former opener has also claimed that he wanted to come clean on two occasions, first immediately after the incident and then again in 2021. However, he alleged that he was stopped on both occasions, first by Smith and later by a statement from Australia's bowling group, which denied any involvement in the controversy.Speaking to SEN's Adam White on Tuesday, Greenberg said he had great respect for Khawaja for sharing his version of events but warned against drawing conclusions from headlines surrounding the book. "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."But there are specific details in his book that contradict the versions that have been provided by others.
And I want to be really careful to consider what Usman's actually said, and not respond to the headlines or the subsequent commentary that gets created."Greenberg maintained that players had been encouraged to come forward at the time of the investigation and had continued to have the opportunity to share their accounts over the last 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 the controversy could continue to attract differing accounts as more members of the team release their own books."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."It's highly likely, our captain (Pat Cummins) will release a book at some point.
Others will also release a book, and unfortunately, I think what we'll read are differing versions of events."KHAWAJA'S VERSION OF SANPAPERGATEIn his autobiography, Khawaja has alleged that the responsibility for what happened in Cape Town in 2018 extended well 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 Australia opener said he had not wanted to be the person to revisit the scandal but felt the truth had remained buried for too long."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 said.Khawaja also took to Instagram following the reaction to his comments, clarifying that he was not speaking on behalf of anyone else in his book."Now that everyone's talking, am I going to deny that everyone knew? Nah.
I won't deny that either," he wrote."But I never speak on behalf of anyone else in my book. Contrary to all the headlines the clickbait media would have you think."The Sandpapergate scandal erupted during the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, when television cameras caught Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.The fallout was significant.
Smith, then Australia's captain, Warner and Bancroft were handed suspensions, with Smith and Warner also stripped of their leadership positions. The incident remains one of the darkest episodes in Australian cricket, and Khawaja's latest claims have brought fresh scrutiny to an investigation that Cricket Australia appears unwilling to revisit.- Ends