Usman Khawaja has withdrawn from his remaining television and radio interviews for the promotional campaign of his new book, Sabr, following a tense appearance on the ABC's 7.30 program. Publisher Penguin has confirmed changes to the schedule but insisted that the book tour has not been cancelled.
Host Sarah Ferguson questioned Khawaja about claims in the memoir concerning Australia's 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. The chapter, titled "Sandpaper", has drawn reactions from former teammates, with David Warner backing Khawaja's account while Mitchell Starc has rejected the claims.
Usman Khawaja Pulls Out of TV and Radio Interviews After Fiery ABC Appearance
Usman Khawaja faced repeated questions from Ferguson during Tuesday night's interview about his claim that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering plan.
In Sabr, Usman Khawaja wrote, "It was all of us," but avoided naming specific players when asked whether bowlers such as Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc knew about the use of sandpaper.
The 37-year-old stated that he had already shared his account in the book and did not want his comments to trigger a "witch-hunt" against former teammates and friends.
Following the appearance, Penguin confirmed that Khawaja would not take part in any further television or radio interviews for the campaign. The publisher emailed several media outlets on Wednesday morning to communicate the changes, but it did not specify which individual appearances had been cancelled.
Penguin Confirms Book Tour Is '100 Per Cent Still Going Ahead'
Penguin rejected reports that the entire promotional campaign had been scrapped. In a written statement to ABC Sport, the publisher confirmed that the schedule had changed but maintained that Khawaja would continue with other commitments.
"The book tour is 100 [per cent] still going ahead, we've just had to make some adjustments this week but no major cancellation of the tour at all," the statement read.
Penguin also confirmed that Usman Khawaja would continue to participate in interviews about Sabr. He is expected to honour his scheduled podcast appearances and in-person book tour events despite withdrawing from mainstream television and radio programmes.
David Warner Backs Khawaja's Claims as Mitchell Starc Rejects Sandpapergate Claims
Usman Khawaja's revelation has divided opinion among his former Australian teammates. David Warner publicly supported the claims in a statement on Monday night, describing the account of the dressing-room events as "100 per cent accurate".
Starc stood by the joint statement he released in 2021 alongside Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. During a media appearance on Tuesday, the Australian fast bowler rejected suggestions that the bowlers knew sandpaper was being used to alter the ball during the 2018 South Africa tour.
Cameron Bancroft also declined to discuss the claims in detail during a brief interaction with reporters at Melbourne Airport. He was arriving ahead of a Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and Victoria at the MCG, while Steve Smith has yet to comment publicly on Khawaja's book.
The 2018 Cape Town scandal resulted in suspensions for Smith, Warner and Bancroft after Australia were caught using sandpaper to tamper with the ball. Warner and Smith served a year-long ban, while Bancroft served a nine-month ban for using the sandpaper.
Also read: David Warner backs Chris Broad's dig at Darren Lehmann over 2018 ball-tampering scandal
