Former Australian opening batter Usman Khawaja has made explosive revelations in his newly published autobiography, 'Sabor', asserting that he was overlooked for the Australian Test captaincy in the wake of the 2018 Sandpaper Gate scandal due to his Pakistani heritage and his leading role in player pay dispute negotiations with Cricket Australia (CA).
When Steve Smith and David Warner were stripped of their leadership roles following the Cape Town Test, Tim Paine was appointed acting captain. According to Code Sports excerpts from his memoir, Khawaja was left stunned by the decision, believing he was the most logical candidate given his established spot in the Test XI, his experience captaining Queensland, and his extensive tenure leading the Australia 'A' side.
Read nextSir Geoffrey Boycott Questions Usman Khawaja's Claims Over Sandpaper Gate ScandalKhawaja claimed that Australian cricket authorities were unwilling at the time to appoint a person of colour to lead the national side, even on an interim basis. Furthermore, he believes his prominent role advocating for players during bitter industrial salary negotiations with Cricket Australia alienated board members. Expressing frustration over being denied even a vice-captaincy role—which was instead awarded to Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh—Khawaja described feeling sidelined despite his maturity and leadership credentials.
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