Usman Khawaja says nobody in the Australia camp was in the dark over the ball-tampering that rocked the 2018 Test series in South Africa.
South African soil was the stage for one of cricket's biggest scandals, and Usman Khawaja now says the whole Australia team knew what was going on. The batter claims the use of sandpaper to alter the ball during the 2018 series against the Proteas was no secret inside the dressing room.
The controversy erupted at Newlands in Cape Town, where cameras caught Cameron Bancroft working on the ball and the story exploded around the world. Steve Smith and David Warner were handed 12-month bans, Bancroft got nine months, and Australian cricket was plunged into a deep crisis over its culture and conduct.
At the time, the public story pointed to a small group of players behind the plan. Khawaja's claim challenges that picture. By his account, awareness of the tampering was far wider than a leadership trio, and the full squad was in the loop.
For South African fans who watched the drama unfold in their own backyard, the comments will reopen old wounds. The series was meant to be a heavyweight contest between two proud cricketing nations, but it is remembered for the tampering row. Years on, the fallout still shapes how the sport talks about fair play, accountability and the pressure to win at all costs.
