Pat Cummins rejects Khawaja's sandpaper allegations in Sydney address

Australia captain Pat Cummins has rejected former team-mate Usman Khawaja's allegations that the entire Australian side knew about the sandpaper plot during the 2018 Cape Town Test. According to BBC Sport, Cummins used a media conference in Sydney to deny knowing that sandpaper would be taken onto the field and to dispute suggestions that he helped organise the scheme.

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The controversy has resurfaced following the publication of Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr. Khawaja alleged that the team knew about the plan and should have accepted collective responsibility. Cummins said there had been no team-wide plan to use illegal methods. He also said he did not remember Khawaja proposing that the whole side take responsibility, or two players rejecting that proposal, as the former batter has claimed.

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were punished over the attempt to alter the ball with sandpaper against South Africa. Smith and Warner received one-year bans, while Bancroft was suspended for nine months. BBC Sport reported that Cummins described those sanctions as excessive. Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon formed Australia's bowling attack in that match and have consistently denied knowing about the plot, including in a joint statement issued in 2021.

Cummins arranged the Sydney conference himself and answered questions for an hour and eight minutes, the BBC reported. He said he had received advice that some of Khawaja's allegations were defamatory but would not pursue legal action. He also confirmed speaking with Khawaja and Smith since the book's release, though not Warner, and meeting Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg, who had reviewed the original investigation files.

The dispute has produced conflicting accounts among people connected with the 2018 tour. According to the BBC, Warner and squad member Chadd Sayers have supported Khawaja, while then-coach Darren Lehmann and assistant coach Graeme Hick have rejected his allegations. Starc has also denied Khawaja's claims. Those competing positions remain disputed accounts rather than an agreed explanation of who knew what before the incident.

Cummins and Khawaja played 56 Tests together before Khawaja's international retirement in January. Cummins said he supported his former team-mate's right to tell his story but objected to the impact of the allegations on his own reputation and those of others. His response leaves the central disagreement unresolved: Khawaja alleges broader knowledge within the team, while Cummins maintains he had no advance knowledge of the sandpaper plan.