Mitchell Starc Responds to Khawaja’s Fresh Sandpapergate Claims

Mitchell Starc has maintained his stance on Australia's infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal after Usman Khawaja reignited the controversy with fresh claims in his autobiography, Sabr. 

Starc also recently climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test bowling rankings after taking 10 wickets against Bangladesh in Mackay.

The Australian fast bowler faced questions about the Cape Town incident during a promotional event at Sydney's Golden Sheaf pub on Tuesday, as the former opener's revelations brought the episode back into the headlines.

Starc made it clear that his recollection of the events had not changed. He also stopped short of speaking on behalf of his fellow Australian bowlers, referring instead to the joint statement they released in 2021.

"I haven't really paid much attention to it, to be fair. Obviously, there are differing opinions about eight years ago. We were heavily grilled throughout the process at the time and since then.

"Now, I guess I won't speak on behalf of the bowlers, but where I stand, my opinion hasn't changed, and my recollection hasn't changed from what we said in 2021," Starc said.

When asked whether the Australian bowlers knew about the plan, Starc pointed back to their previous position.

"As far as our statement said, we weren't aware of sandpaper being taken onto the field," he added.

What did Khawaja reveal in his autobiography?

The Mitchell Starc Sandpapergate response follows claims in Khawaja's newly released book that the knowledge of ball-tampering extended beyond the three players who received suspensions.

The former Australia opener also recalled a conversation in which one of the bowlers raised concerns about how much reverse swing the ball was generating.

"Guys, it's going heaps now. Just don't do anything else to it, because it's silly how much it's going," Khawaja quoted the unnamed bowler as saying.

However, he did not identify the player or directly accuse Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood or Nathan Lyon of involvement.

Khawaja also argued that the entire Australian dressing room should have accepted responsibility instead of leaving David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft to face the consequences.

"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," he wrote.

His account also described how Australia had attempted to match South Africa's ability to generate reverse swing during the 2018 series.

Sandpapergate controversy returns after eight years

The Usman Khawaja Sabr revelations have reopened questions about the original investigation and the extent of the team's knowledge.

The scandal emerged during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, when television cameras caught Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the ball's condition.

Smith and Warner received 12-month suspensions, while Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban.

In 2021, Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon issued a joint statement denying knowledge of any foreign object being taken onto the field to alter the ball.

The latest claims have also received support from Warner, who described Khawaja's account as 100 per cent accurate.

However, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has ruled out reopening the investigation, saying the governing body remains satisfied with the original findings.

With Starc standing by his earlier account and Khawaja presenting a different version, the debate over what happened inside the Australian dressing room remains unresolved.