Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann, who was at the helm when the infamous ball-tampering sandpapergate incident happened during the 2018 Cape Town Test against Australia, has squarely rejected former opener Usman Khawaja’s claims that all Australian players knew about the ball-tampering plan.

The excerpts of Khawaja’s soon-to-be-launched autobiography, Sabr, which have been published in the Sydney Morning Herald, have once again raised discussions related to the Cape Town Test, during which Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper on the ball.

Bancroft, David Warner, and Steve Smith were banned for their involvement in the incident while other players walked free. However, when the question was asked about bowlers, they denied any involvement in the incident.

“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja told the newspaper, claiming the attempted ball-tampering had also taken place during the previous Test.

Lehmann, Australia's head coach throughout the series, stated he didn't believe the full team was aware of the strategy. He resigned soon after the series, holding a tearful press conference, while being exonerated of any direct involvement or prior knowledge of the occurrence.

“I don’t think everyone would have known (about the use of sandpaper). You do know ball tampering is going on because it’s been happening for 150 years. It’s just how it’s being done, and how would you know to that extent? That’s an individual, case-by-case, to be fair. I can only speak to what I know, and I know ball tampering was a big part of the game of cricket. Now it is obsolete. That doesn’t make it right either, but that’s the case, and we paid a heavy price for that," Lehmann told ABC Sport‘s Summer Grandstand.

Khawaja added that once Bancroft was apprehended, he had recommended that the players accept collective responsibility. However, Lehmann claimed he could not recall such a conversation.

“I don’t remember that. There were two change rooms, obviously, and meetings were going on everywhere. To be perfectly honest, I was in meetings with Cricket Australia a lot," he said.

Lehmann acknowledged that it was a very hard time for him, admitting that he was at his house for four months. He also found fault with the timing of airing the story again after eight years.

“I was in a really dark place for a period of time where for four months I didn’t leave my house. For the families and the people involved, I feel for them right now because it’s taking them back to a really bad place. It’s been eight years. You get to a place where you move on, and I’ve moved on with my life,” Lehmann said.

Usman Khawaja played 88 Tests, scoring 6229 runs with 16 centuries at an average of 42.95. He also played 40 ODIs and 9 T20Is, scoring 1554 runs and 241 runs, respectively, with 2 centuries in white-ball international cricket.