Usman Khawaja reportedly cancels TV and radio interviews after grilling from ABC: ‘I’m not going to answer that’

Usman Khawaja has reportedly cancelled his remaining TV and radio interviews promoting his autobiography Sabr amid the fallout from his explosive Sandpapergate claims.

Publisher Penguin notified media outlets of the cancellations on Wednesday morning, according to News Corp, after Khawaja was grilled by Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s 7.30.

The former Australian opener claimed on Saturday that the entire team knew about the 2018 ball-tampering plot in Cape Town, challenging Cricket Australia’s finding that only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft had prior knowledge.

He also alleged sandpaper had been used during the previous Test at Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha.

‘It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of the book’s release.

Khawaja, who retired this year after 88 Tests, dedicates a chapter of his autobiography to the scandal.

During his 7.30 interview with Ferguson, he maintained that the team should have taken collective responsibility.

‘All I’ve ever wanted is for us to take accountability as a team, and I don’t think that’s a lot to say.

‘I’m not asking a lot from people and I say, ‘We were a part of it. That was us.’ Let’s just take accountability.

‘I was here to tell my truth, what I saw, what I felt, and to stick with those three guys who were made out to be the only people who have taken it [accountability].’

Asked whether Pat Cummins knew about the sandpaper, Khawaja said: ‘I’m not going to answer that.’

Cummins and fellow bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon publicly denied in 2021 that they knew about it.

Smith, Warner and Bancroft were sent home in disgrace after the Cape Town scandal.

Smith was banned for a year and sacked as captain, Warner received a 12-month suspension and was stripped of his leadership roles, and Bancroft was banned for nine months.

Earlier this week, Khawaja said he had urged his teammates in the dressing room after the Cape Town Test to accept collective responsibility, rather than leave the blame with the three players.

‘In an ideal world, I don’t want to do this.’ Khawaja said.

‘I don’t want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth. The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now.

‘Maybe I thought Davey (Warner) would have exposed it, or someone else would have talked about it more. I just didn’t think it was going to come down to this.’

Khawaja’s book recounts dressing-room discussions during the second Test about ways to rough up the ball.

He alleges the players discovered sandpaper was effective, at which point Smith walked away, saying he did not want to know about it.

Bancroft then allegedly volunteered to use sandpaper during South Africa’s first innings in Gqeberha, where the ball swung significantly.

Darren Lehmann, Australia’s head coach at the time, disputed the claim that knowledge of the plot was widespread.

‘I don’t think everybody would have known,’ he told national broadcaster ABC.

‘I can’t speak for them (the players) at all. I only know what I know, and I know that ball-tampering was a big part of the game of cricket.

‘Now it’s obsolete, but that doesn’t make it right either and we paid a heavy price for that.’

Lehmann, who quit after the series, said Khawaja’s claims had brought back ‘bad memories’ for him, the players and their families.

‘For the families and the people involved, I feel for them right now because it’s taking them back to a really bad place,’ he said.

‘It’s been eight years. You get to a place where you move on, and I’ve moved on with my life.’

Cricket Australia said it remained ‘comfortable’ with its original findings but was open to considering new evidence.

‘There has been a great deal of speculation in the eight years since the 2018 Cape Town Test, including extensive media coverage throughout last month’s series in South Africa,’ it said.

‘During this time there has been the ongoing opportunity to present any relevant information, and this remains the case.

‘All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process.’