Former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has admitted that the entire team was aware of ball tampering during the 2017-18 Ashes series, a period marred by the 'Sandpapergate' scandal. Khawaja stated in his autobiography, 'Sabr,' that the team collectively worked on methods to alter the ball's condition to achieve reverse swing.
The scandal initially came to light when Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to scuff the ball during a match. This led to sanctions against then-captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and Bancroft. However, Khawaja now claims that these tactics were known and practiced by the wider team.
According to Khawaja, the team discovered that roughing up the seam of the ball could enhance its reverse-swing capabilities. He noted that this practice was not limited to the Ashes series, as they had been employing similar methods with the pink ball in the game prior. Khawaja defended the team's actions by suggesting that "the whole world was doing whatever little they could to try and reverse-swing the ball."