Ritvik Sharma retweeted
My question to all those people saying to 'move on' from the sandpaper gate incident which happened 8 years ago. How can you move on?? Full disclosure from the 4 bowlers needs to be made and other players part of that series need to come out and own up their involvement in the ball tampering incident.
Usman Khawaja no matter what his views are but he's done a huge favour by letting out the truth. Respect to him.
How can people move on from this incident?? Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft names have been tarnished and reputations destroyed forever. @stevesmith49 @davidwarner31 @cbancroft4
They themselves, families had to endure and go through so much of shit and trauma over the years.
Fans, media literally humiliated and shamed them.
CA threw them under the bus.
They fucked up the investigations.
CA is a disgusting cricket organization with absolute jokers at the helm of the affairs.
Shame on Malcolm Turnbull, James Sutherland and the horrible Aussie media back in 2018.
How were Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood allowed to carry on playing and not have any idea of not knowing the ball was tampered with a foreign object.
Absolute bullshit. Biggest joke and there are clowns defending them.
How they did carry on playing with no sense of guilt or shame in them while the other three players made to suffer.
I disagree with Usman Khawaja on many issues but he's got it absolutely spot on with the sandpaper gate incident admitting everyone including the players, staff and management knew about it .
The bowlers were involved and they should've been suspended by the CA as well for their involvement back then.
CA need to hang their heads in shame. Stooping to new lows each and every passing year.
Fucked up delusional individuals running the state of cricketing affairs.
The four bowlers should come up on public record and come clean. The more you defend yourselves you're putting yourself in a very big mess and digging a big hole.
Shame on you lot!
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Of his close friend of three decades Warner, Khawaja writes, “You were not the architect. We were all the architects.”
MORE: bit.ly/4zs7lNk
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
You can say Usman Khawaja is doing this because he craves attention. You can say he's doing it to promote his book. You can even say the timing was off. But you cannot dismiss what he said, and you cannot just say he lied. Here's why.
I was listening to a Jason Gillespie interview, and he pointed out that during the whole ball-tampering episode, the umpires actually examined the ball and said there was nothing wrong with it. Yet the cameras caught what they caught. Gillespie said he found the whole thing really fascinating.
Then there is Darren Lehmann, the head coach at the time. Asked whether what Usman is saying is true, he dodged the question and drifted into the history of ball tampering instead.
Justin Langer offered the same kind of deflections. On top of that, Cricket Australia never interviewed Usman Khawaja.
Put together, it tells you there is something far bigger than what was visible on screen. So what Usman is presenting does hold water. And he hasn't even addressed the part about David Warner and Steve Smith. I wonder when those two will break their silence, because only then will we get a fuller explanation.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Usman Khawaja has gone on the front foot to defend claims he made about the Sandpaper-gate scandal in his new memoir.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
The anger directed towards Khawaja is misplaced. It should be directed towards CA and their wholly inadequate investigation. They didn't want to accept the consequences of a culture they fomented. If they did their job 8 years ago, the issue wouldn't be festering to this day.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Steve Smith has always been a good man with good intentions but the one thing which he lacked as captain was being 'assertive and being honorable to his position of power'.
Maybe he was better off focusing on his batting and not becoming a captain. He was bullied by his teammates and turned a blind eye when he knew what all was going on. The fact that he didn't stop it will always remain a feeling of guilt through his life. Maybe it was better to lose games of cricket that trying to win a game through unfair mean.
With Usman Khawaja's revelation it puts an end to all the speculation that only Smith was the one fully responsible. Everyone else were involved and he took one for the team to cover his mates up which was the wrong thing to do..
History will remember as a great cricketer who was let down by the CA and his teammates.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Usman Khawaja's 12 Major Statements on the 2018 Sandpapergate Scandal:
1. The Entire Australian Team Was Involved
"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us."
2. The Truth Should Have Come Out
"In an ideal world, I don't want to do this. I don't want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth. The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now."
3. The Team Should Have Taken Collective Responsibility
"We did this as a team. We knew what was going on, and we have to take it as a team, and so I was always of that stance."
4. Three Players Were Left to Face the Consequences
"Obviously, it didn't work that way, and those three guys got crucified."
5. On David Warner's Treatment
"I've seen Davey over the last eight years just get nailed bad over and over again, and it's taken a big man not to say anything and just to stay quiet."
6. On Cameron Bancroft's Career
"He's been a terrific cricketer for a long time, but I know it's something that hangs over his head."
7. On Steven Smith
"Steve's lucky, the greatest batsman of my generation. He came back from that, and he's come back as good as he ever was in that first Ashes series, and it's kind of been forgotten for him in some respects."
8. The Three Players Deserve Justice
"These guys, in some respect, deserve that justice. And it just doesn't feel like anyone's going to give it to them."
9. Cricket Australia Never Interviewed Him
"I was sitting next to Cam Bancroft that whole Test match, and I didn't get interviewed."
10. He Waited for Cricket Australia to Contact Him
"And I was waiting for my phone to ring. It just never rang, and then the penalties were given, and I couldn't believe it."
11. On South Africa's Ball-Tampering Methods
"They were so good, and I discuss in a little bit of detail about what I'd heard from one of their players and what they were doing."
12. Australia Was Trying to Keep Up With South Africa
"They were far better at working on the ball than Australia. We were trying to keep up with them."
#UsmanKhawaja
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Srarc and Cummins needs to face consequences .. biggest individual beneficiaries of the act still walked scot free.
Ban of 6 months and yearly salary deductons are the bare minimum that CA can do.
bancroft career ruined and Cummins/starc etc pushed him under the bus
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Took the blame of a falling cricketing nation, my high testosterone merchants.
We all knew about the sandpaper scheme, says Usman Khawaja. Explosive stuff...
dailymail.com/sport/cricket/…
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
"Usman claims that he went and addressed the whole team and said, 'We need to take collective responsibility for this.' He said everyone was in that room."🏏
Jason Gillespie reacted to the bombshell news this morning, 8 years after Sandpapergate.
Listen: ab.co/4jXoZ6P
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Sandpaper ended Steve Smith’s captaincy of the Aussie Test side, and silence over the latest damning allegations could end Pat Cummins’ writes Robert Craddock.
READ ▶️ bit.ly/4sMBd4n
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Meet Usman Khawaja
Bring religion issues in Australia ✅️
Brings race issue in Australia ✅️
Plays victim card everytime ✅️
Hid a back injury prior to the 1st test in the 25/26 Ashes ✅️
Bringing out anti-immigration policies issues in Australia ✅️
Making political statements while being a professional cricketer ✅️
Exposing Sandpaper gate incident after keeping silence for more than eight years cause he was under CA's payroll and paid the dollar ✅️
Needs to sell his book 'SABR' for the dollar so needs to bring up the past ✅️
Always posts stuff related to politics while being a centrally contracted Aussie players ✅️
Loves to create controversy ✅️
Usman Khawaja is a real trouble maker and a disgrace.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
300kg buffalo Robert Craddock is unaware of the fact CA have already mentioned he has a neck cervical facet joint and will need at least 3-5 weeks of recovery.
Pushed him to the exit door?? What piece of gutter journalism is this?? He has a legitimate injury and he will be there during the BGT and Ashes next year.
The hate and smear campaign against Smith needs to stop..
Why will he be afraid of playing in Cape Town? He has played 127 tests in his career and played all around the world.
Is Cape Town the only place in the world where he plays cricket??
Robert Craddock, firstly you must focus on your health.
You are overweight.
Have a good lifestyle and have a good clean diet. Exercise and eat the right food everyday. Cause your mind is clearly cluttered and delusional right now.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
There is a hate and smear campaign being run by the Code Sports Media Team of Daniel Cherny, Robert Craddock, Tom Morris and Ben Horne which is very sad to see.
They have done it with David Warner, Usman Khawaja in the past and now Steve Smith is their main target. They have very evil intentions to mentally harass one of Australia's greatest ever cricketers and damage Australian Cricket in the long run.
This is very sad to see from these petty journalists who need to use Smith's name to run their failed Sports media house 'CODE SPORTS'.
Respect your heroes who've given their blood, sweat and tears to the country for a long time. Questioning the 'professionalism of a 127 test match player is very sad and disappointing to see'. Steve Smith is a legend of the modern era and needs to be respected.
Criticise him for his form and when he doesn't put in the required performances but never ever doubt his professionalism and commitment towards Australian Cricket.
Out of those 127 tests more than likely half of those tests he has played with some sort of an injury.
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
The World Cup is in South Africa where he averages below 20 and the team is carrying him just because he is chasing a dream 😂
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Does Smith deserve more backing after everything he’s given Australian cricket? 👇
#ChinMusic #SteveSmith #AustralianCricket #FanaticsTV
Ritvik Sharma retweeted
Andrew McDonald has spoken on Steve Smith's neck injury, future in Test cricket cricket.com.au/news/4602529
