Joe Root refuses to get drawn into Usman Khawaja's Ashes ball-tampering claims

Joe Root has refused to comment on Usman Khawaja's explosive revelations about Australia's ball-tampering practices during the 2017-18 Ashes, insisting he does not want to speculate. Khawaja's claims have received backing from David Warner, who questioned Cricket Australia's investigation into the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal.Root has refused to comment on Usman Khawaja's ball tampering claims (Courtesy: Reuters)New Delhi,Nov 11, 2026 21:59 ISTJoe Root has refused to get drawn into the controversy surrounding Australia's ball-tampering scandal after former opener Usman Khawaja made fresh revelations about the team's practices during the 2017-18 Ashes. Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr, has reopened old wounds, but the England batter chose to steer clear of the allegations, insisting that he had no knowledge of what happened inside the Australian dressing room.Root, who captained England during the 2017-18 Ashes, was speaking ahead of the three-match ODI series against Australia, which begins in Perth on November 13. England suffered a 4-0 defeat in that series under Steve Smith's captaincy. However, Root was unwilling to comment on Khawaja's claims, preferring to keep his focus on the upcoming assignment."I wasn't in that [Australia] dressing room, I don't know what went on. I don't want to speculate. My focus is with this team right now and what we've got coming up," Root told reporters.Also Read: Promised Warner that I would tell the truth: Khawaja defends reigniting Sandpapergate "In terms of everything that's happening or come out in the last little while, we obviously have no idea, and it's all speculation. Our focus and our concerns are on this three-match series," he added.Root was also asked whether ball-tampering was widespread across international cricket around the time of the 2018 scandal. The England batter disagreed with that suggestion, saying he could only speak from his own experience. "I can only speak from my own experiences. That's not how I feel," he said.KHWAJA'S EXPLOSIVE ASHES REVELATIONSIn his autobiography, Khawaja alleged that Australia's experimentation with the ball went beyond the infamous Cape Town Test in 2018. Recalling the 2017-18 Ashes, he described how the team had worked out that lifting the flaps on the ball's quarter seam could help generate reverse swing.Khawaja specifically referred to Mitchell Starc's memorable delivery to James Vince during the Perth Test. He explained that Australia had been generating reverse swing throughout the series, including with the pink ball during the Adelaide Test."The whole world was doing whatever little they could to try and reverse swing the ball," Khawaja wrote.His revelations also challenged the long-held narrative that only Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft knew about the ball-tampering plan in South Africa. Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball during the third Test at Newlands. The incident resulted in one-year suspensions for Smith and Warner, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban.WARNER BACKS KHAWAJAWarner, who had largely remained silent on the controversy for eight years, publicly backed Khawaja's account. In an Instagram video, he described his former teammate's claims as "100 per cent accurate" and criticised Cricket Australia's investigation as "rushed and botched".Meanwhile, Cricket Australia has defended its original investigation, while Mitchell Starc has maintained that he was unaware of any plan to tamper with the ball."There's absolutely no benefit in going back," CA chief executive Todd Greenberg told SEN radio on Tuesday. "That's the clear position of the CA board."With the controversy resurfacing just days before the ODI series, Root has made it clear that England have no intention of getting involved in Australia's latest Sandpapergate storm.- Ends