Sandpaper row: Will Pat Cummins take legal action against Usman Khawaja? Answers the captain of Australia

Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins (Image credit: The Agency) NEW DELHI: Australia captain Pat Cummins has hit out at former teammate Usman Khawaja over his claims about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, calling them “100% wrong” and “absolute nonsense”. Cummins faced several questions about Khawaja’s autobiography during a fiery press conference in Sydney. He was asked whether he would take legal action against his former teammate, whether he had spoken to Khawaja and whether Cricket Australia should reopen its investigation into the sandpaper scandal.The Australian captain addressed all these issues and also explained why he found Khawaja’s claims irresponsible.Asked by one whether he would take legal action against his former team-mate, Cummins confirmed he had spoken to Khawaja during the week but did not give details of their conversation.He admitted that the allegations made him think about how his long-standing friendship with Khawaja would be affected.Cummins also revealed that he had been told that some of the claims in the book were “probably defamatory”. However, he made it clear that he would not take legal action.“You have to move on,” he said. “It’s been eight years… You have to draw the line at some point. I won’t.”Speaking about his 15-year association with Khawaja, Cummins said the former Australian opener had been a good friend throughout his career.However, he believed that the allegations were serious because it affected not only the players but also their families and reputations.“I played for 15 years, my debut for New South Wales and with Australia, Usman was right there, he’s been amazing to me and he’s a friend,” Cummins said.“But these are real people’s lives, and it’s serious. I saw (my wife) Becky on the news yesterday. It’s not just about people, it’s about their families, and I’m one of the smaller ones. Maybe I’m right there this week. But to talk eight years ago like it was traumatic for those guys, for all of us, for Australian cricket, for the fans. I think, yes, I think so responsibly and casually.” they’re all things I’m dealing with right now,” he said.Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said earlier in the week that the governing body would not reopen an investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.Asked whether the inquiry should be conducted again, Cummins said the decision rested with Cricket Australia. However, he felt that the original investigation was conducted in the correct manner.“That depends on CA,” Cummins said.“Part of why I think it’s still going on after eight years is there’s a lot of context around it that’s hard to explain and hard to articulate, and that’s what I want to do today. But there’s a very right way to do things and a wrong (way), and I think the inquest was the right way to do it. They were all asked in the circumstances, with a game that could very quickly be assumed to be judgmental. fair, but what can you do, I got all the questions and answered them fairly,” he said.