Usman Khawaja has withdrawn from several television and radio interviews scheduled to promote his new book, Sabr, following a tense appearance on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Publisher Penguin informed media outlets on Wednesday morning that the former Australian batter would no longer participate in broadcast interviews as part of the book’s promotional campaign.
The decision came just hours after Khawaja faced persistent questions from popular host Sarah Ferguson about his latest revelations concerning the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. While Khawaja has cancelled his television and radio commitments, he will honour podcast appearances already arranged. His decision reportedly stems from concerns that the promotional campaign would become dominated by discussions surrounding the infamous Sandpapergate controversy rather than the wider themes of his book.
Released on Tuesday, Sabr has attracted considerable attention, particularly for its chapter titled ‘Sandpaper’. In it, Khawaja claims that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering incident during the third Test of the 2018 South Africa tour.
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During his ABC interview, Sarah Ferguson questioned whether Cricket Australia should reopen its investigation into the scandal. However, Khawaja dismissed the suggestion that he wanted the governing body to take further action. “I’m not calling for anything. I’m literally sharing my version of the truth,” Khawaja said.
Sandpapergate row
‘Not going to answer that’
Usman Khawaja cancels media interviews after Pat Cummins question
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Ferguson also brought up David Warner’s support for Khawaja’s account and asked what lies the former Australia opener believed had been told. Khawaja refused to speak on Warner’s behalf and indicated that he did not want to escalate the controversy. “I’m not going speak on behalf of Davey,” Khawaja replied.
He explained that his intention was to share his experiences and challenge the narrative that Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were the only players held accountable for the incident.
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The interview also examined whether Australia’s bowlers knew about the use of sandpaper on the field. Mitchell Starc had addressed similar questions earlier on Tuesday, maintaining his position in the joint statement issued alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon in 2021. The statement denied any knowledge of a foreign substance being taken onto the field in Cape Town.
Khawaja maintained that he had been honest about what he witnessed and the conversations he heard, while admitting that certain aspects of his account were intentionally left vague. He also made it clear that he did not wish to continue engaging with questions along those lines.
