Pat Cummins rejects Khawaja claims as Cricket Australia rules out fresh inquiry

Australia captain Pat Cummins has rejected allegations arising from Usman Khawaja’s memoir about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, while Cricket Australia has ruled out reopening its investigation. According to the BBC, Cummins spent more than an hour answering questions at Cricket Central in Sydney as the book renewed scrutiny of who knew about the use of sandpaper during the Cape Town Test.

Watch the highlights:

Khawaja’s memoir, released last week, claims the entire Australian team knew about the scheme during the third Test against South Africa. The former Australia batter wrote that he had urged the players to accept responsibility collectively after Cameron Bancroft was caught with sandpaper on the field. Khawaja has since declined to specify which individuals he says knew about the plan or precisely what information they had, the BBC reported.

Cummins disputed the claims and expressed frustration that a friend and former teammate had placed his reputation under scrutiny. He remained available for questions until reporters had finished, saying he wanted to address the issue fully and then return the focus to cricket. Asked whether there should be another investigation, he said that decision belonged to Cricket Australia. Chief executive Todd Greenberg has already ruled out a fresh inquiry, according to the report.

David Warner has backed Khawaja’s account, saying the memoir told the truth and criticising Cummins’ response. Steve Smith, who captained Australia during the 2018 incident, had not commented publicly on the book’s allegations at the time of the BBC report. Bancroft had also remained silent on the latest claims, although the BBC noted that he had previously suggested the bowlers knew about the tampering.

Bancroft, Smith and Warner admitted involvement in the original scandal and received lengthy bans. The renewed dispute concerns how far knowledge of the scheme extended beyond those three players. Khawaja’s account and Cummins’ denial remain conflicting positions; the allegations about wider team knowledge have not been established by a new investigation.

The controversy has resurfaced after Khawaja’s retirement from international cricket in January. Cummins described its continued presence as a distraction, pointing to the Sheffield Shield match taking place outside his press conference and Australia’s one-day international against England in Perth on Friday. He and other leading players were being rested from that international, the BBC reported.