Cummins rejects Khawaja’s claim racial bias cost him Australia captaincy, denies ball-tampering allegations

SYDNEY: Australia captain Pat Cummins has rejected Pakistan-born cricketer Usman Khawaja’s claim that his race and background prevented him from captaining the national team, while also dismissing allegations that he helped orchestrate the 2018 ball-tampering scandal against South Africa.

The claims, made in Khawaja’s autobiography published on Tuesday, have revived controversy surrounding the 2018 Cape Town Test, when Australian batter Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.

Khawaja alleged that all members of the Australian team knew about the plan and suggested that his background and skin colour had affected his chances of becoming national captain.

Addressing a press conference in Sydney on Friday, Cummins described the allegation concerning racial barriers to captaincy as particularly serious.

“I think of all the things that I’ve read this week, I think that’s actually the most serious,” Cummins said, adding that he strongly disagreed with Khawaja’s assessment of the selection process.

“Him saying that if you’re Australian captain, you have to be a certain skin colour, I couldn’t disagree with that statement any more.”

Cummins denies involvement in ball-tampering plan

Turning to the 2018 scandal, Cummins rejected Khawaja’s allegation that the Australian team collectively knew about the use of sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa.

“When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he’s 100% wrong. I’ve said that consistently for the last eight years,” Cummins said.

He also disputed the suggestion that he and other players had helped devise a coordinated plan to tamper with the ball.

“He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense,” Cummins said.

Elaborating on his denial, the Australian captain insisted that the team had never held discussions about using illegal methods to alter the ball’s condition.

“There was no master plan around using illegal methods. There’s no grand plan. There’s no team meeting. There’s no bowlers saying ‘this is what must happen’,” he added.

The scandal, widely known as Sandpapergate, erupted in March 2018 after television cameras captured Bancroft attempting to alter the ball with sandpaper during the Cape Town Test.

Cricket Australia subsequently banned then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner from elite cricket for 12 months, while Bancroft received a nine-month suspension.

The investigation concluded that the three players were responsible for the incident, although Khawaja and Warner have since questioned its findings and scope.

Cummins said he had fully cooperated with the original investigation and maintained that his account had remained consistent.

“I got asked to be part of that review,” he said. “I was totally truthful. I’ve been very consistent since then at that event till now. Nothing’s changed.”

The Australian captain also challenged Khawaja’s recollection that two players had rejected a proposal for the entire team to accept collective responsibility for the incident.

“I don’t remember any conversation around collective responsibility,” Cummins said, adding that he could not identify the players referred to in the autobiography.

“So then, I’ve got no idea who those two people would be because I don’t remember ever being asked or having a conversation about it.”

Cummins further expressed surprise at Khawaja’s account of having 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 to be careful when using sandpaper. That’s not the Usman that I know,” he said.

The Australian captain said the account was difficult to reconcile with Khawaja’s contribution to rebuilding the team’s culture after the scandal.

“It’s not the Usman that has helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years.”

Warner backs Khawaja, criticises Cummins

Former Australia opener David Warner, who was among the three players suspended over the scandal, defended Khawaja’s account and criticised Cummins for publicly challenging his former teammate.

Speaking during television commentary ahead of Friday’s one-day international between Australia and England, Warner insisted that Khawaja’s version of events was accurate.

“I still stick by Uzzie and what he has written in that book. It is the truth,” Warner said.

He also expressed disappointment with Cummins’ response, arguing that the Australian captain had treated Khawaja unfairly.

“I actually feel for (Khawaja) at the moment. I actually feel that the captain today threw Uzzie under the bus and I’m very disappointed by that.”

Warner also spoke about the personal consequences of the controversy, revealing that his wife Candice had lost a baby in the aftermath of the scandal.

The renewed dispute has prompted questions about whether Cricket Australia should revisit its original findings. However, the organisation’s leadership ruled out reopening the investigation earlier this week.

Cummins rules out legal action against Khawaja

Cummins, who spent 68 minutes answering questions at Friday’s press conference, said he respected Khawaja’s right to share his experiences but believed several allegations in the autobiography could damage the reputations of former teammates.

“Usman’s a friend, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives and reputations,” Cummins said, expressing disappointment over the claims made in the book.

“In his book, Uzzie has been casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket.”

Despite his objections, Cummins said he had no intention of pursuing legal action against Khawaja, even after receiving advice that some of the allegations could be defamatory.

“I did get advised this week that some of the things that’ve been said are probably defamatory, but I won’t be doing that,” he said.

The Australian captain also indicated that he would not revisit the controversy publicly, saying the team needed to move beyond an incident that had overshadowed Australian cricket for eight years.

“You’ve got to move on. It’s been eight years. We’re moving on. So you got to draw a line at some point,” Cummins said.