Usman Khawaja's book claims open talk of ball tampering in Australia squad on 2018 tour

The ball-tampering issue is back in the spotlight eight years on. Former Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja has made big claims about the 2018 episode, sending a jolt through Australian cricket and dominating talk across the game.

Excerpts from Khawaja's upcoming book have been released. In them he writes about events on the 2018 tour of South Africa. According to the book, players in the squad openly discussed how to tamper with the ball and which methods to use to get reverse swing on that tour. He claims that methods such as using sandpaper to damage the ball were also openly discussed in the Australian team.

Khawaja is also understood to have claimed directly in his book that it was not only the players on the field but also the support staff who knew the full details of the malpractice and the ball tampering.

Australia were then playing a Test series against South Africa. During a match, Australian players were caught tampering with the ball with the help of sandpaper. The episode brought great disgrace to Australian cricket worldwide, damage that could never be undone.

Cricket Australia held an inquiry after the incident. It found that only three players knew of the tampering: then captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Cricket Australia banned all three.

Cricket Australia has now issued an official statement on the claims in Khawaja's book. The body said all the information presented to it so far had been considered properly and thoroughly. It also said it was fully satisfied with the findings.

Khawaja is a veteran Australian opener who has recently announced his retirement from international cricket, a decision he had taken at the start of the year. He played 88 Tests for Australia and scored 6,229 runs, including 16 centuries and 28 half-centuries. Besides Tests, he also played 40 ODIs and 9 T20 Internationals for Australia. His claims on the much-discussed 2018 ball-tampering case have once again created a stir in the cricket world.