Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has slammed his former teammate Usman Khawaja following the latter's controversial revelations about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town during a Test match against South Africa.
Recently, Khawaja, in his book Sabr: Finding My Way in Cricket and Life, revealed that the entire Australian team was responsible for the Sandpapergate scandal that shook the cricketing world during the Cape Town Test in 2018.
During that Test, the then Australian opener Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.
David Warner was found to be the main instigator who hatched the plan, while the then-skipper, Steve Smith, was also aware of it. Cricket Australia handed all three lengthy suspensions.
‘He’s 100% wrong’: Cummins on Khawaja
"Usman is a friend, but friends aren't casual with each other's lives and reputations. In his book, he's been casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket," Cummins said while addressing journalists in Sydney on Friday.
"I support him to tell his story, 100%. I'm glad he feels like he can, but we have to be accountable for the things that we say and do," he added.
According to Cummins, Khawaja is "100% wrong" in his allegations against the Australian team. "When he says we all knew, if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he's 100% wrong. I said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening. But I think Usman actually says things that are far more serious than that. He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense," the New South Wales cricketer added.
Cummins said he was shocked to learn that Khawaja had warned Bancroft to be careful while using sandpaper. “I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam [Bancroft] to be careful when using sandpaper. That's not the Usman that I know. It's not the Usman that I think, or that has been part of a team that's helped rebuild this Australian cricket culture over the last eight years, and you know the Usman that would have stopped that from happening there and then,” he said.
Australia, led by stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh, are taking on England in a limited-overs series comprising three ODIs and five T20Is.
Cummins, along with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, have been rested for the limited-overs series following Australia's recent tour of South Africa. The first ODI will take place in Perth on Friday.