Khawaja's book tour 'adjusted' as ball-tampering claims draw scrutiny

Usman Khawaja's promotional tour for his autobiography has had its schedule "adjusted" this week after an uncomfortable television interview put fresh scrutiny on his claims about Australia's 2018 ball-tampering scandal, according to the Guardian.

The former Test batter withdrew from some radio and television appearances on Wednesday. Publisher Penguin told the ABC the tour itself was not being scrapped.

"The book tour is 100[%] still going ahead, we've just had to make some adjustments this week, but no major cancellation of the tour at all," the Penguin statement read.

The change followed Khawaja's appearance on the ABC's 7.30 Report on Tuesday night, where veteran journalist Sarah Ferguson repeatedly pushed him to clarify who within the Australian squad knew about the plan to tamper with the ball during the 2018 tour of South Africa.

Khawaja's book, titled Sabr and published on Tuesday, states that "all" members of the touring party were aware of the plot that saw Cameron Bancroft caught using sandpaper at Newlands. Only Bancroft, then-captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were sanctioned at the time, with the rest of the squad cleared.

When Ferguson asked directly whether bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon had been involved in conversations about the tampering, Khawaja declined to elaborate, the Guardian reported.

Cricket365 described the reaction to the book's Sandpapergate passages as evidence of a cover-up of "giant proportions", arguing that Warner has previously characterised the 2018 investigation as rushed, and that the claim everyone in the squad knew is unlikely to surprise many inside the game.

Sabr also contains separate allegations from Khawaja about racial abuse he says he suffered from a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club during the 2023 Ashes Test at Lord's, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

The incident came amid a hostile atmosphere following the stumping of England's Jonny Bairstow by Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey, with television footage showing Khawaja and Warner remonstrating with spectators as the players left for lunch.

The MCC subsequently expelled one member and suspended two others for "abusive, offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language", with one banned for four-and-a-half years and another for thirty months.

Khawaja wrote that he had expected better from a group historically known for its respectful treatment of players. "We didn't realise what was waiting for us in the Long Room. Unfortunately, the MCC members in the room that day showed their true colours," he said.

He went further in describing the scene, saying: "It was like a pack of dogs about to feast on their next meals."

With Sabr already generating headlines on two separate fronts in its first days of release, attention now turns to whether Khawaja addresses the unanswered questions about his bowling teammates' knowledge of the 2018 tampering plot during the remainder of his adjusted promotional schedule.