Ex-Australia Opener Usman Khawaja, who has scored 88 Tests for the national team, has resurrected the 2018 sandpapergate scandal through his memoir, Sabr, which has been launched in Australia on November 10, 2026, following an excerpt on November 7.
In his book, he says that all members of the team were aware of the usage of sandpaper during the Test in Cape Town, which was also done in the preceding match.
The 2018 inquiry held that David Warner came up with the scheme, Cameron Bancroft performed the actions, and the captain of the team, Steve Smith, knew about the whole situation and did not prevent it from taking place.
Cricket Australia discovered that knowledge about the incident was limited only to these three players. Warner and Smith were banned for one year, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban.
According to The Week, the investigation cleared Khawaja of all charges.
In a statement released by Cricket Australia on November 7, Saturday, it was stated that Cricket Australia stands behind their investigation.
On November 10, Tuesday, CEO of Cricket Australia Todd Greenberg declared that there is no compelling need for conducting a new investigation.
As he stated, the matter was solved under previous leadership in 2018, and it was time to move forward.
It is worth mentioning that the book has caused disagreement among his ex-teammates.
As per the report by AFP, Greenberg was unwilling to look back at this scandal despite the fact that Warner supported Khawaja's story.
In addition, Mitchell Starc remained committed to their joint statement where they denied that they knew anything about using some unknown substance in bowling. Wisden states that Bancroft indicated during an interview held in 2021 that the bowlers were aware, but they denied that claim.
Peter Collins, who is considered an important person who participated in the independent review connected with Sandpapergate, asked Cricket Australia to reopen their investigation due to Greenberg's decision on November 11. He pointed out that his notes require reconsideration against Khawaja's allegations. At the moment, Cricket Australia does not have a different position on this issue.
According to AFP, Khawaja denied that he intended to conduct a witch hunt against anyone. According to Khaleej Times, pressure was mounting on team captain Pat Cummins to react to the allegations, and Greenberg stated that Cummins will talk to the press within days or weeks. Sky Sports states that Starc and Cummins will have their say on the accusations.
Sandpapergate is not the only topic being discussed. According to Open Magazine, Khawaja also talks about being racially abused at Lord's. The story also says that the Marylebone Cricket Club issued an apology to Australia after disciplining three of its members following the altercation.
