Former Australian wicketkeeper and deputy chairman of Queensland Cricket, Ian Healy, has publicly criticised Usman Khawaja for omitting key details about a disputed injury incident from his autobiography 'Sabr' — reigniting a long-simmering feud between the two cricketers. The clash adds another layer of controversy to a book that has already made explosive waves in Australian cricket.

The Injury Dispute at the Centre of the Row

The friction between Healy and Khawaja traces back to 2024, when the now-39-year-old Khawaja skipped a Queensland match to attend the Australian Grand Prix. In 'Sabr', Khawaja addressed Healy's public criticism of that decision, writing that Healy had implied he was 'only worried about myself and not giving back' — and that he felt 'absolutely nailed' by Healy's remarks at the time.

Healy, however, says the book tells only half the story. 'He didn't even tell the team why he wasn't playing. I sussed it out with all sorts of medicos in our dressing room and the head of our high performance, and they denied the injury,' Healy said in comments reported by SEN.

'They tested him structurally and his functionality, and they said there is no hammy (hamstring injury); you are right to play. He did not say that in his book. Then they said, 'Let's get it scanned this afternoon,' and he refused to get it scanned. That's what I was going on, and it was a shame he does not support his team better than that,' Healy added.

Sandpapergate Claims Overshadow the Book's Release

The injury feud is, however, only one of several controversies that have thrust 'Sabr' into the spotlight even before its official release. Khawaja made the arguably more incendiary claim that all members of the Australian playing squad were aware of the use of sandpaper during the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018 — and that the object had also been used on the ball in the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha).

'It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,' Khawaja is quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald. '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.'

Warner Lends Weight to Khawaja's Account

Khawaja's Sandpapergate claims have received notable backing from David Warner, who was handed a one-year ban and a lifetime leadership ban from international and domestic Australian cricket following the scandal. Warner's lifetime ban was later overturned in 2024, and his public support for Khawaja's version of events has intensified scrutiny on Cricket Australia and the individuals involved.

What Happens Next

The full publication of 'Sabr' is expected to keep Australian cricket in a prolonged reckoning with its 2018 ball-tampering episode, while the Healy-Khawaja spat over the injury narrative signals that personal grievances from that era remain unresolved. Cricket authorities have yet to respond formally to Khawaja's broad claim about squad-wide awareness of the sandpaper use.