New Sandpapergate detail could emerge after eight years as Usman Khawaja 'holds meeting'

Australia will play a Test match in South Africa this week for the first time since the 'Sandpapergate' scandal that saw captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft all banned from cricket - and a new twist could potentially emerge in the coming weeks.

Bancroft was infamously caught on camera rubbing one side of the ball with sandpaper during the third Test of a four-match series at Cape Town in March 2018.

A Cricket Australia investigation found that Warner was responsible for developing the ball-tampering plan and told Bancroft how to do it, and that Smith - who admitted he knew of the plan in a press conference during the Test - had failed to take steps to prevent it. Smith and Warner received 12-month bans from all cricket, while Bancroft was banned for nine months.

Now, Usman Khawaja, who batted at number three in the Cape Town Test, has penned a new autobiography following his retirement from international cricket - and it is reportedly set to address Sandpapergate.

Usman Khawaja 'requested meeting' with Pat Cummins ahead of South Africa series

According to Australian outlet Code Sports, Khawaja requested a meeting with current Test captain Pat Cummins and Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg to discuss the contents of his autobiography, which is due to be released in November.

Khawaja is said to have 'sought a conversation' with Cummins and that the pair met in Brisbane before the recent Test series against Bangladesh. It is unclear as to what Khawaja will say about the ball-tampering scandal in his book.

Cummins and the current squad are said to be 'unfazed' by what Khawaja's book could reveal in November. SPORTbible have contacted Usman Khawaja's representatives for comment.

The other members of the Australian squad from Cape Town have all denied any knowledge of the plan, including the bowling contingent of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Marsh.

But they were, of course, all very much present for the fall-out, which saw Tim Paine hastily appointed as the new captain mid-Test before Smith, Warner and Bancroft were all suspended and then sent home by Cricket Australia.

Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Peter Handscomb were brought into a much-changed Australia line-up for the fourth and final Test, which they lost by a staggering 492 runs.

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'I still have little flashbacks...' - Steve Smith on Sandpapergate

Nearly nine years on, Warner is now retired from international cricket while Bancroft is no longer in the Australia Test picture, meaning Smith is the only one of the trio that will play in South Africa this time around.

One of the abiding memories of the ball-tampering saga was when an emotional Smith held a news conference at Sydney Airport shortly after his one-year ban from all cricket had been announced.

He broke down in tears during the conference, and stated he would 'regret this for the rest of my life'.

The 37-year-old returned to cricket in 2019 and, seven years on, needs just 255 runs to become Australia's second-highest leading run scorer in Tests behind Ricky Ponting.

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Speaking to News Corp last month, Smith said: "I'm not a big fan of cameras. I get anxious around cameras. That was a traumatic experience in my life and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that, in a way.

"The 24-48 hours after being told by James Sutherland [CA chief executive] that I was being banned for a year, going through the airport in Johannesburg getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing that press conference... I still little flashbacks here and there.

"I felt like I was kind of thrown to the wolves through the airport. I didn't have any support there at all."

Smith could lead Australia in South Africa this time around, as he has been vice-captain to Pat Cummins since the end of 2021. What sort of reception he will get from the home crowd when he walks out in Durban on Friday remains to be seen.