After facing questions and criticism for his sensational statements on Saturday about the Sandpapergate scandal in Cape Town in 2018, Usman Khawaja came out on Sunday to explain that his comments were misunderstood, and he added more revelations about his conversations with David Warner and Steve Smith.
In the upcoming week, Khawaja will release his autobiography, Sabr, which details out the events inside the dressing room and his chat with the players following the Sandpapergate scandal that shocked the cricket world, which led to Cricket Australia (CA) banning Smith and Warner for one year and Cameron Bancroft for nine months.
In an interview with Nine newspapers on Saturday, Khawaja said,
“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”
He received widespread criticism from fans and even Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach at that time, who denied all of Khawaja’s claims and slammed the former opener. Lehmann reacted,
“That’s part and parcel of selling books, I suppose. I don’t know what he’s getting paid. He’s probably getting paid a lot of money to do it. Is it worth it? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll write a book.”
I made a promise to my childhood friend David Warner that I would tell the truth: Usman Khawaja
On Sunday, responding to the criticism, Khawaja explained that what he meant was that the entire team should have taken the blame and not just the trio of Smith, Warner, and Bancroft, whom he symphathised with.
Khawaja said in a video he posted on Instagram, “I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus. The guys that are currently in the team right now and the other people that were there on the South African tour, including me, we’re not the victims. These three guys took the blame for all of us. They’re the victims. People telling them that they’re cheats, getting nailed by the crowd, public humiliation.”
Khawaja said that he had promised Warner, his opening partner and long-time childhood friend, that he would tell the world the truth.
“I made a promise to my childhood friend David Warner that I would tell the truth, so he could tell a story. I’m absolutely 100 percent unapologetic for that,” Khawaja added.
The left-hander further revealed that after the trio was banned, he wanted to “come clean in the media,” but Smith stopped him from doing so, taking the punishment himself.
“Smudge [Smith], being the man and leader he was, talked me out of it. He wanted to take the blame. I argued with him, but he was having none of it. That’s the first time I tried to come out,” Khawaja recalled.
Some of my team-mates didn’t want to talk about it: Usman Khawaja reveals why he is speaking up now
Since his initial bombshell revelation, many had been wondering and asking why Khawaja stayed silent over the past eight years, the latter half of which included his being a consistent part of the Test team.
“So then you ask, why didn’t I say anything in those four years while I was still playing? You know what, I never wanted to be the first guy to chat about this. Call me a chicken or whatever you want. I didn’t know how to do it because I was still in the team. How was I ever supposed to bring this up when I knew some of my team-mates didn’t want to talk about it? I knew everything I did or said always influenced and affected the team.
“I was always conscious of putting my team first, but I’m not in that team more. What I say now isn’t a reflection of them any more. Now my words don’t influence the team at all. I speak for myself,” the former opener who retired in January 2026 added.
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