“I don’t want to speculate”: Root on fresh ‘Sandpapergate’ claims, says focus is on ODI series

Perth [Australia], November 11 (ANI): England Test captain Joe Root has declined to “speculate” on fresh revelations surrounding Australia's 2018 ‘Sandpapergate’ controversy, saying he was not part of the Australian dressing room and that his focus remained on the upcoming ODI series, according to Cricinfo.
The 'Sandpapergate' scandal refers to ball-tampering by Australia during the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town, for which then-captain vice-captain Steve Smith and David Warner received one-year competitive cricket bans, while Cameron Bancroft was also handed sanctions, including a nine-month international/domestic cricket ban.
The renewed attention on the controversy follows several claims made by former Australia batter Usman Khawaja in his autobiography, one of which includes that Australia had been lifting the quarter seam during the 2017-18 Ashes series as well, and that "the whole world was doing whatever little they could" to find reverse swing.
Speaking ahead of the ODI series against Australia, Joe Root refused to “speculate” on the fresh revelations surrounding Australia's ball-tampering controversy, saying he was not part of the Australian dressing room and that his focus was on England's upcoming three-match ODI series.
"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 said ahead of the ODI series against Australia. 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 said as quoted by Cricinfo.
Asked about the allegations, Root added: "I can only speak from my own experiences and that's not how I feel, no."
Ahead of the release of his autobiography 'Sabr', Khawaja had also claimed that the entire Australian team, including players and support staff, was involved in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal during the South Africa tour. He said the responsibility was collective, contrary to Cricket Australia's findings that implicated only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Khawaja stressed that he had expected the truth to emerge over the past eight years and spoke out to ensure the three players were not left carrying the blame alone.
In his autobiography, not only did Khawaja call for the entire Aussie locker room to take collective responsibility for the incident, but he also said that Warner, Smith and Bancroft were not the sole people with knowledge of sandpaper use and the team had, in fact, used the sandpaper back in the second Test in Gqeberha before getting caught at Cape Town during the third Test.
Meanwhile, Australia batter Peter Handscomb, who was part of the squad during the 2018 Cape Town Test, also declined to comment further on the fresh revelations.
"Look, I appreciate you have to ask these questions. I've had a nice day today, and it's not really something that I want to comment on right now. I'll sort of just let the powers of people do their thing,” he said.
Handscomb said players have to move on from off-field discussions and noise, adding that everyone is entitled to speak and deal with such developments in their own way.
"I mean, things come up all the time. People are allowed to talk about what they want to talk about. That's up to them. So, you know, in professional cricket, where you deal with a lot of noise, you do have to move on. So everyone [is] dealing with it in their way," he said.
Handscomb was among the reserve players when Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper during the 2018 Test. Then head coach Darren Lehmann had also used a walkie-talkie to ask Handscomb to carry a message to the middle seeking clarification on what was happening.
Handscomb scored an unbeaten 131 for Victoria against Western Australia on Day 1 of the ongoing Sheffield Shield match. (ANI)