Australia Test captain Pat Cummins calls Khawaja's sandpapergate claims ‘complete and utter nonsense’

Appearing before dozens of reporters at Cricket NSW's headquarters in Sydney, Cummins firmly rejected Khawaja's memoir allegations that more than just the three suspended players were aware of the team's ball-tampering plans during the 2018 Test in South Africa. The captain maintained he had no knowledge of the sandpaper plot.

Khawaja, in his book 'Sabr', claims that sandpaper was also used on the ball during the preceding Test and has called for 'all' of the team to take collective responsibility for the scandal that saw Smith, Warner and Bancroft receive long suspensions from Cricket Australia.

Cummins' strong denial

Cummins described Khawaja's assertions as '100% wrong' and 'complete and utter nonsense', emphasizing that he was genuinely shocked to learn his former teammate had told Cameron Bancroft to be careful when using sandpaper. 'He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense,' Cummins stated.

Team culture reflection

While denying any involvement in the sandpaper scandal, Cummins acknowledged the 2018 Australian men's team had a 'win-at-all cost mentality' and an 'ugly underbelly' which he said he had worked to eradicate during his six years as captain. He admitted the team's on-field behavior was 'quite abrasive' and that he didn't like how they spoke to umpires and opposition players.

The captain revealed he had texted briefly with Khawaja since the memoir's release but declined to discuss the nature of their conversation. When asked about potential legal action, Cummins said he had received advice that some allegations were 'probably defamatory' but stated, 'I won't be doing that. You've got to move on. It's been eight years.'