It’s an Australian theme: Rabada steers South Africa away from Sandpapergate storm

Kagiso Rabada has distanced South Africa from the renewed controversy surrounding the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, saying Australian cricket must deal with the issue on its own. The fast bowler’s comments come after the former Australian batsman Usman Khawaja revived the controversy with the allegations in his autobiography Sabr.

“We don’t care what they have to deal with. It’s not our issue to deal with. It’s obviously an Australian issue. I don’t see where we get involved,” Rabada said at a press conference in Johannesburg on Friday.

Rabada was one of the leading players in the 2018 Test series between South Africa and Australia, finishing as the highest wicket-taker with 23 wickets at an average of 19.26. However, the series was overshadowed by the ball-tampering scandal that came to light during the third Test at Newlands in Cape Town.

Khawaja now claims in his autobiography that three South African players were also involved in ball-tampering during the series. His allegation has reopened questions about the extent of the training and whether only three of Australia’s penalized players took part in it.

Rabada was asked to react to Khawaja’s claims in Australia but chose not to comment on their credibility or South Africa’s alleged involvement.

The fresh allegations also put Australia captain Pat Cummins under pressure. Cummins, a member of the 2018 squad, strongly rejected Khawaja’s suggestion that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering plan.

Khawaja told Nine that information about the incident went beyond the three players being punished and claimed that everyone in the team, including the batsmen, bowlers and support staff, knew what was going on.

Cummins denied the allegation and insisted the wider group had no knowledge of sandpaper being brought onto the pitch. He called Khawaja’s claims “complete and utter nonsense”.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SANDPAPER?

The scandal erupted during the third Test between Australia and South Africa at Newlands in March 2018, when television cameras caught Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to change the condition of the ball in an attempt to induce reverse swing.

A Cricket Australia investigation found captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Bancroft guilty of participating in the scheme. Smith and Warner received 12-month bans, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban.

Khawaja’s claims have since prompted calls for a fresh investigation into the incident. They also revived the debate about reverse swing, which had become less prominent in Test cricket since the Newlands scandal.

Rabada admitted he had not followed the discussion closely, but suggested that the change in pitch conditions could be one of the reasons for the decline.

“We played on some green tops. So the ball didn’t have a chance to turn over,” he said.

South Africa has also had its share of ball-tampering controversies. Former captain Faf du Plessis was found guilty during Tests against Pakistan in 2013 and Australia in 2016, while Vernon Philander was punished for an incident during a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2014.

RABADA TURNS FOCUS ON BANGLADESH TESTS

Controversy aside, Rabada is focusing on his return from injury as South Africa prepare to take on Bangladesh in the Test series starting at the Wanderers on Sunday.

The 31-year-old missed the opening Test against Australia at Kingsmead before returning for the second and third matches. He is now looking to put his injury woes behind him and help South Africa strengthen their position in the World Test Championship race.

“I’ve been good. Obviously I haven’t played cricket for a while. It’s my first time back. I was supposed to be involved in the ODIs so it wasn’t the best start to the summer. But I was just pretty chilled,” he said.

Rabada also saw his time away from cricket as an opportunity to work on other aspects of his game.

“I think the injury is another way to maybe look at another opportunity to improve something else. Or find some time away from the game,” he added.

The fast bowler expects Bangladesh to be a tough challenge, especially given their recent performances, and is looking forward to playing the Wanderers.

“You can’t take any series for granted in international cricket. There’s always high stakes in every match you play. And moving into this series against Bangladesh, they’ll be in a better mood after looking at the way they’ve played recently. So it’s actually exciting,” he said.

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