Joe Root has spoken on Usman Khawaja's explosive claims about Australia's ball-tampering saga. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were punished by Cricket Australia after they admitted to ball-tampering during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa. Eight years after the incident, Khawaja, in his book Sabr, dropped a bombshell and said that the entire Australian team was aware of the ball-tampering incident. He further said that the incident was not a one-off affair and Australia had applied similar tactics in previous games too, including the 2017-18 Ashes at home, where they beat England 4-0. Reacting to Usman Khawaja's claims that Australia did ball tampering during the 4-0 win over England, Root refused to blow up the controversy. "It's all speculation. I wasn't in that dressing room. I don't know what went on. I don't want to speculate, as I said. My focus is with this team right now and what we've got coming up," he added. When asked if ball tampering was common during that time, Root denied it, saying he doesn't think so. "I can only speak from my own experiences; that's not how I feel," when asked if he thought ball-tampering was rife in the sport eight years ago," he added. Usman Khawaja's revelations have left the cricket world divided. David Warner came out in Khawaja's support and backed his claims. However, Mitchell Starc, who was part of the bowling group, and then head coach Darren Lehmann, denied knowing about it. Cricket Australia also said it was happy with the findings of the investigation. "The three players who received bans after the Cape Town Test acknowledged their breaches and accepted the penalties imposed," a CA spokesperson said. "We have acknowledged that the investigation was conducted in a short timeframe given the impending Test match and that there are varying opinions about some matters, including the length of the sanctions imposed. We respect that players have different recollections of events from this time. "But we remain comfortable the investigation's findings accurately reflect the statements and evidence provided at the time." Faham Uddin is a seasoned sports journalist currently working as a Special Correspondent on the sports desk. With over eight years of diverse experien... View More