Pat Cummins Rejects Khawaja’s Claims on Ball-Tampering Scandal Revelations
Warner backs his former teammate and says the captain “pushed him under the bus” after a 68-minute press conference.
Australia – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has rejected Usman Khawaja’s claims about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. He said the idea that the whole team knew about the sandpaper plan is “completely baseless.”
Khawaja made the claims in his book, “Patience: Finding My Way in Cricket and Life.” Cummins spoke about them at a press conference that lasted 68 minutes, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo.
Cummins said he was surprised by one part of the book. Khawaja wrote that he had told Cameron Bancroft to be careful while using sandpaper.
“This is not the Usman I know,” Cummins said. He added that the real Usman would have stopped the matter right away.
Cummins called Khawaja a friend, but said it is not right to talk lightly about people’s lives and Australian cricket. He confirmed that he spoke to Khawaja this week, but he did not share any details. He has only skimmed the book.
He also admitted that the team’s mood in 2018 was poor. He spoke of a dark side, many groups inside the squad, and a mindset of winning at any cost. He said he has tried to fix this as captain over the past six years.
The most serious claim in the book is about race. Khawaja wrote that he did not get the interim captaincy because officials were not ready for a “brown Australian captain.”
Cummins said such a claim needs proof. He agreed with many of Khawaja’s other points, but not this one. He said he has seen no extreme racist behavior in the team in the last eight years.
Cummins also said the bans on Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were too harsh. He said players from other teams were also caught tampering with the ball on that tour, but they only received small fines or demerit points.
David Warner took Khawaja’s side. He told Fox Cricket that he believes the book is true and was disappointed in the captain’s words.
Warner also said the 2018 investigation was flawed and rushed. He said he never got a fair chance to explain his side. He added that his wife Candice lost her pregnancy during that period, which made things even harder.
Warner said Khawaja and Bancroft are both worried about the matter.
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