Khawaja denies throwing ‘anyone under the bus’ over Sandpapergate scandal

Usman Khawaja has denied he has “thrown anyone under the bus” a day after the former Australian cricketer released an excerpt from his autobiography claiming the entire team had been aware of ball-tampering during a 2018 tour of South Africa. The scandal – called Sandpapergate over Australia’s scuffing of the ball with sandpaper during the March 2018 Test in Cape Town – sparked a major integrity crisis for Cricket Australia.

Captain Steve Smith and batsmen David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, who was caught with the sandpaper in his pocket, were banned for their part in the scandal. “The guys currently in the team and the other people who were there on the South African tour, including me, we’re not the victims.

“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.” Khawaja, who retired after 88 Tests, defended waiting so long to make the claims, denying it was a marketing ploy to sell his book. “He wanted to take the blame.