‘Absolute nonsense’: Pat Cummins breaks silence on Usman Khawaja’s 2018 sandpaper scandal claims

Pat Cummins (Image credit: Cricket Australia) Australia captain Pat Cummins has strongly denied allegations that he was involved in a plan to use sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the 2018 Test against South Africa. He described former teammate Usman Khawaja’s claims in his autobiography as “complete and utter nonsense”.Khawaja’s autobiography was released this week. Last weekend, the former Australian opener claimed that everyone in the team knew about the plan, leading to calls for a new investigation into the infamous ball-tampering scandal.At a news conference Friday, Cummins denied the allegations and said he consistently denies knowing about the use of sandpaper.

Cummins hits back at Khawaja’s claims

“When he says we all knew, if he means we knew the sandpaper was going into the field, he’s 100 percent wrong. I’ve been saying that consistently for the last eight years,” Cummins said at a news conference Friday.“I didn’t know this was happening, but I think Usman is actually saying things that are actually much more serious.“He says that I and others were the architects of the plan to manipulate the ball with sandpaper. That is complete and utter nonsense.”

What happened in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal?

The incident occurred during Australia’s Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town in March 2018.Steve Smith, who was Australia’s captain at the time, and his deputy David Warner were banned from elite cricket for one year by Cricket Australia for bringing the game into disrepute.Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was caught using sandpaper on the ball, received a nine-month ban.All three accepted their punishments and later returned to Test cricket.Cummins also spoke about Khawaja’s account of the incident in his autobiography. He said he was surprised by the former opener’s claims about Bancroft.“I was really shocked this week when Usman admitted to telling Cam to be careful with the sandpaper, that’s not the Usman I know,” Cummins said.“It is not Usman who was part of the team that helped restore Australian cricket culture over the last eight years.”

‘Friends are not indifferent to each other’s lives and reputations’

Cummins said he respected Khawaja’s right to share his version of events in his autobiography. However, he believed the allegations were serious and needed to be addressed.“Usman is a friend, but friends are not indifferent to each other’s life and reputation.“In his book, Ussie was casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket.Cummins was also asked about Khawaja’s claim that two players rejected his suggestion that the team take collective responsibility for the ball-tampering incident.The Australian captain said he did not recall any such discussion.“I don’t recall any conversation about collective responsibility,” he said.“So I have no idea who those two people would be because I don’t remember anyone ever asking or talking about it.

Cummins rules out legal action

Despite calling some of the allegations serious, Cummins said he would not take legal action against Khawaja.“I’ve been told this week that some of the things that have been said are probably defamatory, but I’m not going to do that,” Cummins said.He added that it was time to move on from the dispute that took place eight years ago.“You have to move on. It’s been eight years. We’re moving on. So at some point you have to draw the line.”