Cricket Australia has been brought back into the scandal that shocked the game as Usman Khawaja tells his side of the story.
Khawaja made an explosive statement claiming that all players on the team back in 2018 knew about the ball-tampering operation.
The Australian team was touring South Africa when the incident took place.
In his new autobiography, Sabr, Khawaja claims that the use of sandpaper was talked about openly in the Australian dressing room, just moments before Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using the sandpaper during the third Test in Cape Town.
Steve Smith, who was the captain at the time, stated that it was strictly the team's leadership group that was aware of the cheating.
Many players have shared their opinions on the matter, with several current and former players publicly responding to Khawaja's claims.
Former Australian opener, David Warner, who was one of the three players suspended following the scandal, has shared his comments through an Instagram post.
Warner posted a lengthy video on Monday publicly backing his former state and national teammate, claiming Khawaja's comments were accurate.
“It's 100% accurate what you've said,” Warner said.
Warner also questioned Cricket Australia's original investigation, saying the interview process was “rushed and botched”.
The former opener also said that Khawaja had been sitting alongside Bancroft during the Test but was never formally interviewed as part of Cricket Australia's investigation.
However, many players have publicly stated that the opinions and claims are false.
Australian bowler Mitchell Starc shared that the suggestion that the whole bowling group knew about the operation was wrong.
Starc maintains that his recollection of the events hasn't changed.
Speaking at Fox Cricket's season launch on Tuesday, Starc mentioned that the bowlers were unaware of the ball-tampering.
“My opinion hasn't changed, and my recollection hasn't changed from what we said in 2021,” Starc said.
“We weren't aware anything was taken on the field to be tampered with. We saw it on the big screen in Cape Town.”
The comments from the fast bowler back the statement made by the senior bowling group at the time; Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon joined Starc in a joint statement in 2021.
Cummins was previously asked about the scandal ahead of their return to South Africa, insisting that the team has moved on from the scandal.
“It was dealt with then, all I can say is as a group we've moved on,” Cummins said in a statement.
Khawaja's claims have brought former captain Steve Smith back into the conversation.
According to Khawaja, Smith attempted to stop him from revealing what he knew about the scandal back in 2018, following the suspensions.
Smith is yet to comment publicly about the claims, but New South Wales batter Nic Maddinson shared his thoughts.
Speaking to 10 Sport, Maddinson said the release of Khawaja's book is a factor that led to the scandal resurfacing.
“It's obviously disappointing that it keeps coming up,” Maddinson said.
“Christmas comes along, and people have books to sell.”
Maddison also expressed his sympathy for the three players who faced the consequences following the scandal.
“It's just disappointing, I think.”
“The three guys who have been affected the most, it doesn't really help them at all to relive it.”
Speaking to ABC Sport, former coach at the time of the scandal, Darren Lehmann, shared his thoughts about the claims, saying they are false.
“I don't think everybody would have known.”
Despite the differing stories, Cricket Australia has maintained that only Smith, Warner, and Bancroft were aware of the ball-tampering.
Chief Executive Todd Greenberg has ruled out reopening the investigation, highlighting that Cricket Australia is comfortable with the findings despite Khawaja's recent claims.
Khawaja has come out since his original post defending the decision to share his truth, saying he has not attempted to blame individual teammates.
He believes Smith, Warner, and Bancroft carried too much the responsibility for the scandal, when it apparently involved the entire team.
With Warner in Khawaja's camp, Starc standing by the bowlers' original statement, and Nic Maddinson questioning the intentions behind the claims, Cricket Australia will be trying to diffuse tensions ahead of the upcoming Summer of Cricket, with England travelling down under for an 8-game white ball series (three ODIs, five T20Is) and New Zealand on Australian shores for a four-Test series, before England returns for the 150th anniversary Test at the MCG in March.
The ball-tampering scandal remains one of the darkest periods in Australian cricket.
