Usman Khawaja has defended the decision to reveal explosive ball-tampering allegations years after the Cape Town scandal, saying Steve Smith persuaded him not to speak out at the time.
His comments came a day after he alleged that sandpaper had been used during the Test before the 2018 Cape Town match and insisted responsibility extended across the entire Australian team.
In a five-minute Instagram video, Khawaja said he had intended to address the media just days after the scandal, but Smith—who was suspended over the incident—“talked me out of it”.
He also revealed that he tried again in 2021 to encourage the team to accept collective responsibility, although a public statement from Australia’s bowlers rejected any suggestion that they had known what was happening.
Khawaja said he and his childhood friend David Warner had agreed that the full story would eventually be revealed after their retirements. He believed Warner, Smith and Cameron Bancroft had been left to carry the consequences for the wider group.
“I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus,” Khawaja said.
“The guys currently in the team, and the other players who were on that South African tour, including me, are not the victims.
“Those three players took the blame for all of us. They are the victims—being called cheats, facing hostile crowds and enduring public humiliation.”
Usman Khawaja says his revelations about Australia’s ball-tampering scandal were not intended to blame anyone unfairly
Passages from Khawaja’s memoir, Sabr, due for release on Tuesday, claim an Australian player first used sandpaper on the ball in the changeroom during the second Test against South Africa at St George’s Park in 2018.
According to Khawaja, teammates noticed that one side of the ball had become heavily scuffed and understood how much movement it could produce. He alleges Bancroft then volunteered to apply the substance.
Khawaja writes that the practice initially took place only at the beginning of sessions, before the team moved onto the field. He claims it later developed into an on-field tactic during the following Test in Cape Town.
He further alleges that a member of the Australian coaching staff urged Bancroft to increase whatever he was doing to the ball, shortly before television cameras and the umpires exposed the West Australian.
In his Sunday video, Khawaja said he would “not deny” that the wider team knew about the plan. He also described how he wanted to speak publicly after Smith, Warner and Bancroft received their suspensions in 2018.
“I told Smudge (Smith) that I was going to come clean to the media,” Khawaja said.
“I couldn’t believe the penalties he received. But Smudge, being the man and leader he was, talked me out of it.
“He wanted to take the blame. I argued with him, but he would not change his mind. That was the first time I tried to come forward.”
Sandpaper was used to alter the ball during Australia’s 2018 series against South Africa, but only three players publicly accepted responsibility
Khawaja says he planned to reveal the full story shortly after the incident, but Steve Smith (pictured) convinced him to remain silent
Khawaja said he held detailed discussions in 2021 with then-coach Justin Langer and Todd Greenberg about the team accepting shared responsibility. Greenberg was the chief executive of the players’ union at the time and is now the head of Cricket Australia.
The 39-year-old said he remained uncomfortable discussing the matter while he was back in the Australian side from 2022 onwards.
He also pointed to the fact that he waited until after Australia’s Test return to South Africa last month to publish the book, arguing that the timing showed it was not simply an attempt to make money.
“Call me a coward or whatever you want. I didn’t know how to do it because I was still in the team,” Khawaja said.
“I was always conscious of putting my team first, but I’m no longer part of that team. What I say now does not represent them.
“I have stood up for cricketers in the past through the ACA (players’ union), fighting for what I believed was right. This is no different.
“Those three players deserve justice, and I have not singled out anyone.”
Khawaja has also criticised Cricket Australia’s handling of the Cape Town investigation, including the fact that he was never interviewed.
Cricket Australia has maintained that it remains “comfortable” with its 2018 findings, which concluded that only Warner, Smith and Bancroft knew about the plan.
Other players, including Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, have rejected any connection to the incident and said they were unaware that “a foreign substance” had been taken onto the field.
