Former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has reportedly withdrawn from scheduled TV and radio interviews for his autobiography, Sabr. The decision follows a challenging interview where he was questioned about his accusations related to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, popularly known as Sandpapergate. According to News Corp, publisher Penguin informed media outlets about the cancellations on Wednesday morning. Khawaja expressed concern that future interviews may primarily focus on the ball-tampering controversy rather than other topics in his book. During a Tuesday interview with Sarah Ferguson on ABC's 7.30, Khawaja refused to answer questions regarding Pat Cummins and indicated he did not wish to discuss the allegations further.
In the conversation with Ferguson, Khawaja reiterated his desire for the entire Australian team to accept responsibility for the incident rather than leaving three players to bear the consequences. He emphasized that all team members were aware of the ball-tampering plan during the 2018 Test against South Africa in Cape Town, contradicting Cricket Australia's findings at the time. Khawaja also claimed that sandpaper had been used in the previous Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha.
Khawaja denied making the revelations to boost book sales and explained that the ball-tampering issue was not discussed when he signed his publishing deal in 2023. Cricket Australia has responded to Khawaja's claims, defending its investigation findings but acknowledging that the inquiry was conducted within a short timeframe.