Mitchell Starc Rejects Usman Khawaja’s Claims on 2018 Sandpapergate Scandal

Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has pushed back against former teammate Usman Khawaja’s claims that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering plan during the infamous 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, insisting that his account of the incident remains unchanged.

Khawaja, in his soon-to-be-released book, has alleged that former captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft were made scapegoats by cricket administrators, despite the wider team being aware of the plan to use sandpaper to alter the ball during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.

The scandal erupted during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, when Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to roughen the ball and help generate reverse swing. The incident led to one-year suspensions for Smith and Warner and a nine-month ban for Bancroft. Smith and Warner were also handed leadership bans by Cricket Australia.

However, Starc, who was part of the Australian team involved in the series, maintained that he and the other bowlers had no prior knowledge of the plan.

"My recollection hasn't changed," Starc said, referring to a joint statement he issued in 2021 alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, in which they denied knowing about the ball-tampering operation.

"We weren't aware of things being taken on the field. That's what we will leave it for," he added, making it clear that he stood by the earlier statement.

Khawaja's claims have received support from Warner, who described the revelations as "100 per cent accurate".

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia has ruled out reopening the case, saying there is no compelling reason to launch a fresh investigation into the scandal that severely damaged Australian cricket's reputation.