Australian cricketer David Warner has fully supported Usman Khawaja's claims on the 2018 Sandpapergate controversy. Warner said that his former teammate Khawaja's revelations were '100% true' and it was necessary for the truth about that dark chapter of Australian cricket to come out. Warner has also raised questions on the investigation conducted after that incident. Warner was banned in South Africa after ball tampering. This ban was also imposed on Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith. Now Warner gave full support to Khawaja by posting a video on Instagram. He raised questions about the credibility of the investigation, stating that Khawaja was never questioned despite being present with Cameron Bancroft.
Support for Khwaja's claims
Warner said, 'It has been eight years since I talked about this topic. Osman I fully support you. I thank you for your work. What you have said is 100% correct. Now everyone knows the truth. This is in front. People wanted to know it; You've come and said it, and now people are saying, 'Why eight years later?' Talking about selling books, this is Usman's story. Which Usman believes.
What did Osman claim?
Warner's statement comes after excerpts from Khawaja's upcoming autobiography 'Sabr' came out, which has reignited the debate over the events of the 2018 Test series against South Africa. Khawaja has claimed that more people were aware of the ball tampering than the three players who were formally punished, and that the team should have taken collective responsibility for it.
Questions raised on investigation
Warner issued his harshest criticism of the procedure adopted by CA after the Cape Town Test, where Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to change the position of the ball. According to Warner, the investigation was rushed and incomplete, particularly because Khawaja, who was sitting next to Bancroft, was not questioned. He said, 'This entire interview process was done in a hurry and in a poor manner. Usman was sitting next to Cameron Bancroft, he was not interviewed. What kind of complete investigation is this? This surprises me.
impact on family
Warner said that this controversy has also had a personal impact on his family. She revealed that recently she had to explain the events to her daughters, especially her 12-year-old daughter Ivy, who wanted to understand the pictures in which her family was surrounded by cameras. He said, 'I have had to talk to my daughters in the last few days, and that's why it took me a few days to bring this out, because I had to tell them exactly what happened. Especially my 12-year-old daughter Ivy wanted to know why we were holding her, why there were so many cameras, why we were crying on TV.
Warner said that conversation was difficult, but he stressed the importance of telling the truth. He said, 'This was very difficult to do. But I said one thing, 'Girls, tell the truth, because lies eventually come out.' This was a very difficult time. He described Khawaja's revelations as '100% true'.
Khwaja gave clarification
After the controversy flared up again, Khawaja took to social media to clarify what he meant by 'all of us'. He stressed that what he meant was about collective accountability, not trying to place blame on individual teammates.