Khawaja Rejects Claims He Betrayed Teammates Over 2018 Ball-Tampering Scandal

Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has rejected suggestions that he betrayed teammates by speaking about the country’s 2018 ball-tampering scandal, saying he delayed going public because he wanted to put the team first.

Khawaja made the comments after releasing an excerpt from his autobiography in which he claimed the entire Australian team had been aware of ball-tampering during the tour of South Africa. The claim has not been independently verified.

In a video posted on Instagram, Khawaja said: “I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus.” He also denied that the disclosure was designed to help sell his book.

Khawaja says players carried wider blame

The scandal occurred during a Test in Cape Town in March 2018, when Australia scuffed the ball with sandpaper. It triggered a major integrity crisis for Cricket Australia and led to bans for Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Bancroft was caught with sandpaper in his pocket.

Khawaja said the three players had taken responsibility for a broader group. “These three guys [Bancroft, Warner and Smith] took the blame for all of us, and they’re the victims,” he said.

He added that the players who were in the team at the time, including himself, should not be regarded as the victims. Khawaja said he had spoken with Smith, Warner and Bancroft and promised Warner that he would eventually share his account.

“These three guys deserve justice, and I haven’t pointed fingers at anyone,” Khawaja said.

Decision to remain silent

Khawaja said he had considered speaking publicly in 2018, after the suspensions, but was persuaded not to do so by Smith.

“But Smudge [Smith] being the man and leader he was, he talked me out of it,” Khawaja said. “He wanted to take the blame. I argued with him, but he was having none of it.”

He said he again came close to speaking in 2021, but decided against it after extensive discussions with then-coach Justin Langer. Khawaja explained that remaining part of the Australian team made it difficult for him to discuss the matter publicly.

“Call me a chicken or whatever you want. I didn’t know how to do it because I was still in the team,” he said.

Khawaja said he was now willing to speak because he was no longer part of the team. He retired from international cricket in January after playing 88 Tests, and said he had been conscious of placing the team ahead of his own perspective.

“I was always conscious of putting my team first, but I’m not in that team any more,” he said.

Responsibility and moving on

Khawaja said his aim was not to single out individuals, but to see responsibility accepted collectively. “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,” he said.

He also referred to comments made in 2021 by Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who publicly denied knowing about the ball-tampering, according to Khawaja.

Australia has since returned to South Africa for the first time since the 2018 tour and lost a three-match Test series 2-1.