Australia doomed to live with stench of sandpapergate

The release of Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr, has reopened the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, commonly known as 'Sandpapergate'. Khawaja argued that the entire team should share collective accountability for the events rather than placing sole blame on Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft. However, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg stated that the organization currently sees no compelling reason to reopen the formal investigation.

The BBC piece highlights ongoing questions surrounding the Australian squad and coaching staff, noting that the quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon continue to maintain they were unaware a foreign substance was used. Former coach Darren Lehmann has also maintained his denial, leaving Australian cricket facing renewed scrutiny over past events.