‘Utter nonsense"- Pat Cummins rejects Usman Khawaja’s ball-tampering claims with BOLD statement
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Pat Cummins addressed media to deny Usman Khawaja’s ball-tampering claims.
Australia captain Pat Cummins has strongly rejected Usman Khawaja’s claims about the 2018 sandpaper scandal, calling them “100% wrong” and “complete and utter nonsense”.
Khawaja recently made several revelations about the incident in his autobiography, Sabr, claiming that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering plan during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
The incident took place during Australia’s 2018 tour of South Africa. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were handed suspensions by Cricket Australia after Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.
However, Khawaja claimed that other players were also aware of the plan and that the entire team should have taken responsibility.
Cummins, who was part of that Australian squad, has now responded to these allegations during a press conference in Sydney on Friday, November 13.
Pat Cummins denies knowing about the sandpaper plan
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Cummins made it clear that he had no knowledge of the plan to use sandpaper during the Cape Town Test. He also rejected Khawaja’s claim that he and other players were involved in planning the incident.
“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’ve said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening,” Cummins said.
He also denied the existence of any team-wide plan to tamper with the ball.
“There was no masterplan around using illegal methods. There’s no grand plan, there’s no team meeting, there’s no bowlers saying this is what must happen. That’s complete and utter nonsese,” he added.
The Australian captain also expressed his disappointment with Khawaja’s claims, saying that he was shocked after reading some of the details in the book.
“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,” he said.
Cummins further spoke about how the allegations could affect the reputation of his former teammates.
“Usman’s a friend, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives and reputations,” he added.
He also admitted that Australia’s dressing-room culture was not right during that period. Cummins said there was arrogance in the team’s behaviour and that he had worked to change it after becoming captain.
What did Usman Khawaja claim about Australia’s 2018 sandpaper scandal?
Usman Khawaja claimed in his autobiography “Sabr” that the entire Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Which Australian players were punished in the 2018 sandpaper scandal?
Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft received suspensions from Cricket Australia for their involvement in the incident.
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