Melbourne

Under-fireUsman Khawaja has withdrawn from interviews promoting his autobiography after facing criticism, while the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) has urged an end to the furore that has been reignited following his claims that the entire team was involved in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.

Khawaja’s book, ‘Sabr’, has reignited the controversy surrounding the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018, with the former batter alleging that the entire team knew about the plan to use sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.

He claimed that then captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft were made scapegoats by cricket administrators despite the alleged wider knowledge within the team.

However, former teammate Mitchell Starc, who was part of the side, rejected Khawaja’s assertions and reiterated the position he had taken in 2021 that the bowlers were not aware of the conspiracy.

The controversy escalated after Khawaja struggled to address questions about the allegations during an interview with ABC . He was pointedly asked whether the four front-line bowlers, Pat Cummins, Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, had been part of discussions around ball-tampering. Khawaja was also asked directly whether current Test captain Cummins knew in advance about the use of sandpaper. he refused to answer them, insisting that he had merely told his “truth” in the book, drawing criticism.

His publisher, Penguin, subsequently confirmed changes to his promotional schedule, though it stopped short of specifying which appearances had been cancelled or altered.