Usman Khawaja claims entire Australia team knew about sandpaper scandal in 2018

Steve Smith, who was Australia's captain at the time, ex-vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera trying to hide sandpaper, were the only players sanctioned by Cricket Australia following an investigation.

Smith and Warner were banned for a year from playing international and domestic cricket while Bancroft was banned for nine months.

Khawaja, who retired earlier this year, is due to release his autobiography in the coming days and said in an interview with Nine Papers that the he wanted the team to take collectively responsibility at the time they were caught.

"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja told Nine. "In an ideal world, I don't want to do this.

"I don't want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth. The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now.

"Maybe I thought Davey would have exposed it, or someone else would have talked about it more. I just didn't think it was going to come down to this. But the longer it's gone on for, and right from the very start, I've been on the train of collectively taking it.

"Even in the change rooms when I was talking to them after the game. I said, 'Take this as a team'. We did this as a team. We knew what was going on, and we have to take it as a team, and so I was always of that stance.

"Obviously, it didn't work that way, and those three guys got crucified. I've seen Davey over the last eight years just get nailed bad over and over again, and it's taken a big man not to say anything and just to stay quiet.

"And he's just copped it and he's copped it and he's copped it. And then 'Bangers' (Bancroft) in the same note, particularly, he played a little bit of Test cricket after that, but then never came back in, even though he's been scoring a lot of runs. He's been a terrific cricketer for a long time, but I know it's something that hangs over his head."

Khawaja also revealed that he was never interviewed by Cricket Australia when the investigation despite being in close proximity to Bancroft when the incident happened at Newlands.

"I was sitting next to Cam Bancroft that whole Test match, and I didn't get interviewed," Khawaja said. "I thoroughly feel that I didn't get interviewed because of that, because they knew that I wanted to take it as a team, because they knew I was ready to tell the truth if I was interviewed.

"And I was waiting for my phone to ring. It just never rang, and then the penalties were given, and I couldn't believe it."

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