Australian cricket is stuck in a sandpaper limbo of historical scandal, innuendo and unanswered questions. One prospect left open is that those at the top have no desire to open the door, for fear of what might lie behind it. Sandpaper is a stench the Australian game has not shaken.
Cricket Australia says the former batter has not presented enough evidence to merit a new investigation. He has not identified individuals.
Khawaja has gone to the edge of whistle-blowing without a full disclosure. The remarks now in circulation are taken from his autobiography and from public statements over the past few days.
"All I've ever wanted is for us to take accountability as a team,"Khawaja said. Alongside that appeal sits a sharper claim in the row: an individual can be culpable even if that person was not the one who rubbed sandpaper on the ball.
Khawaja said the effects of sandpaper could leave swirls on the leather.
He has also explained that much of his reason for telling the story is loyalty to his childhood friend Warner.
Warner has had his say and, like Khawaja, has not named anyone else he feels should be implicated.
Chadd Sayers, another seamer in the 2018 squad, has come out in support of Khawaja and Warner.
The latest evidence has done little to shift views that were entrenched before Khawaja put the account on paper.
The original silence has been tied to squad harmony, loyalty to friends and the protection of places in the Australia team.
Players who felt strongly could have come forward at any time, even if Khawaja is proved correct in his claim that he was not interviewed in the original investigation.
The matter now sits with the other Australian players involved, the coaching staff and Cricket Australia.
In 2021, David Saker, an Australia assistant coach in 2018, called for them to be released.
Tim Paine inherited the captaincy. His reign later ended in a scandal of his own. Pat Cummins is now Australia captain, an Ashes and World Cup-winning leader.