Khawaja claims entire Australia touring party knew about 2018 ball-tampering plot

Khawaja’s central claim concerns the third Test at Cape Town, where Bancroft was caught handling the object on the field. The Guardian, ABC Australia Sport, BBC News and Yahoo Sports all reported his allegation that the knowledge extended across the touring party, rather than being confined to the players later punished. The reports do not independently establish that the entire team or staff knew about the scheme.

The Guardian added a separate detail to the chronology: Khawaja said sandpaper had also been used during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha. In that account, Bancroft first volunteered to use the sandpaper before the plan unravelled at Newlands in Cape Town. That Port Elizabeth claim is reported only by The Guardian among the supplied sources and remains explicitly attributed to Khawaja.

Khawaja’s intervention is being made ahead of the release of his autobiography, Sabr. The Guardian reported that he has dedicated a chapter on the scandal to Bancroft, Warner and Smith, reflecting his view that responsibility should have been treated collectively rather than attached to those three players alone.

The disciplinary record described by The Guardian remains narrower than Khawaja’s account. Bancroft, Warner and Smith were the players sanctioned after Cricket Australia’s 2018 investigation, with the report saying the organisation found that the trio had prior knowledge of the plan. Cricket Australia has since said it remains comfortable with the findings of its integrity process, despite the new claims.

The unresolved issue is therefore not whether Khawaja has made the claim, but whether evidence exists to substantiate its wider scope. The reporting does not identify which additional players or staff allegedly knew, nor does it establish that Cricket Australia has independently verified Khawaja’s account. His version broadens the public explanation of the Cape Town episode, while the organisation’s stated position remains tied to its earlier process.