Pat Cummins dismisses Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate allegations as nonsense
The Australian captain rejected claims from Khawaja that the entire team knew about the 2018 ball-tampering incident.
Australia captain Pat Cummins has dismissed allegations made by Usman Khawaja that the entire Australian XI knew about the use of sandpaper during the 2018 Cape Town Test. Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Cummins called the claims 'complete and utter nonsense' and '100 per cent wrong', according to a report by The Indian Express.
Cummins stated he was not aware that teammates were using sandpaper to scuff the ball. He also rejected Khawaja's suggestion that he and others were architects of a scheme to ball-tamper. The captain said there was no master plan, team meeting, or bowlers deciding on such actions.
Addressing claims in Khawaja's upcoming autobiography, *Sabr*, Cummins also disputed an insinuation that the Australian captaincy is restricted to a certain skin colour. He described that specific claim as the most serious thing he had read and said he could not disagree more.
The 2018 controversy saw Cameron Bancroft caught on camera using sandpaper, leading to a nine-month suspension for him and one-year suspensions for Steve Smith and David Warner. Cummins described those sanctions as 'way too heavy-handed' and 'over the top'.
While Khawaja's claims received support from David Warner on Instagram, Cummins maintained that the dressing room structure would have made it impossible for everyone to be involved in the ploy. He noted that the Cape Town dressing room contained various nooks and crannies.