Pat Cummins denies Usman Khawaja's claims regarding 2018 ball-tampering scandal
The Australian captain called allegations in Khawaja's autobiography 'complete and utter nonsense' during a press conference on Friday.
Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has rejected allegations made by former teammate Usman Khawaja that the team had prior knowledge of the 2018 ball-tampering incident. Speaking at a press conference at Cricket Central in Sydney on Friday, Cummins called the claims in Khawaja's autobiography 'complete and utter nonsense'.
According to the Times of India, Cummins denied being an architect of a scheme to use sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town in March 2018. He stated that if Khawaja meant the team knew sandpaper was going into the field, he was '100 per cent wrong'.
Cummins also addressed Khawaja's claim that being Australian captain required a certain skin colour, stating he could not disagree more and that such a statement requires evidence. He expressed shock at Khawaja's admission in the book of telling Cameron Bancroft to be careful when using the sandpaper.
Cricket Australia chairman David Boon has backed Cummins, stating the captain's leadership is not under threat and that the board has full confidence in his integrity. However, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg and Boon dismissed calls for a new investigation into the matter.
The 2018 scandal resulted in bans for then-captain Steve Smith, deputy David Warner, and opening batter Cameron Bancroft. While Cummins said he was advised some claims were potentially defamatory, he said he would not take legal action and that it was time to move on.