Khawaja Cancels Book Tour Interviews After Tough ABC Grilling on Sandpapergate
· Sports · Indian Express, Times of India, BBC Sport
Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has pulled out of scheduled television and book interviews following a confrontational appearance on ABC's 7.30 Report with journalist Sarah Ferguson. During the interview, Khawaja faced repeated questions about explosive claims in his memoir Sabr that the entire Australian team knew about ball-tampering during the 2018 Cape Town Test and had attempted it earlier in Port Elizabeth. Khawaja refused to answer whether the current Test captain Pat Cummins or the veteran bowling quartet of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon had prior knowledge. His publisher Penguin stated the book tour will proceed with only minor adjustments this week. The memoir details Khawaja's account of the Sandpapergate scandal that led to bans for Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft.
Why it matters
The episode intensifies scrutiny on Cricket Australia's handling of the 2018 scandal and pressures current leaders to address whether senior players were complicit. Khawaja's refusal to elaborate beyond his book fuels debate over accountability in Australian cricket.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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