Watch: “Complete and utter nonsense” – Pat Cummins hits back at Usman Khawaja’s Sandpaper scandal claims

Pat Cummins has hit back at Usman Khawaja over his revelations about Australia's 2018 Sandpaper scandal, calling the former opener's claims about the bowling group "complete and utter nonsense". The Australian captain strongly denied knowing that sandpaper was taken onto the field during the infamous Cape Town Test and rejected suggestions that he and other bowlers were involved in planning the ball-tampering incident.

Cummins addressed the controversy during a lengthy media interaction in Sydney on Friday, November 13. He expressed disappointment with Khawaja's comments, particularly his revelation that he had warned Cameron Bancroft to be careful while using sandpaper during the Test against South Africa in March 2018.

The Pat Cummins-Usman Khawaja dispute has also raised questions about the Australian team's dressing-room culture and the events surrounding the scandal. Cummins questioned Khawaja's version of events, defended his own role in the incident and disagreed with the former opener's claim that his Pakistani heritage and skin colour affected his chances of becoming Australia's captain.

What did Pat Cummins say about Usman Khawaja’s Sandpaper claims?

Pat Cummins strongly rejected Usman Khawaja's sandpaper claims, particularly the suggestion that Australia's bowling group knew about the ball-tampering plan. He made it clear that he did not know sandpaper was being taken onto the field during the Cape Town Test and maintained that his position had remained the same for the past eight years.

"When he says we all knew, if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he's 100% wrong," Cummins said. He also directly dismissed the suggestion that he and other Australian players were involved in planning the incident. "He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense," he added.

Watch the video here-

Cummins was also particularly unhappy with Khawaja's revelation about his conversation with Cameron Bancroft and said, "That's not the Usman that I know. It's not the Usman that has been part of a team that's helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years. And, you know, the Usman that would have stopped that from happening there and then."

See Also: Watch: “100% Accurate” – David Warner supports Usman Khawaja’s claims on Sandpaper Scandal of 2018

Cummins questions Khawaja’s eight-year wait: Why did he speak now?

Pat Cummins also questioned why Usman Khawaja had waited nearly eight years to reveal what he knew about the Sandpapergate incident. He said Khawaja had never approached him or other Australian players to understand their side of the story before making the revelations. Cummins admitted that learning about Khawaja's alleged warning to Bancroft had been difficult for him over the past few days.

"I don't know why it's taken Usman so long. You know, again, it's only this week, a revelation to me that he knew what was going on, that he was sitting next to Cam and that he told Cam to be careful," Cummins said. He also suggested that Khawaja might have been dealing with his own memories of the incident for several years.

"Maybe he's been grappling with that for eight years and is that a reason why he didn't come out in the investigation at the time? Perhaps. I don't know. That's for Usman," he added. Cummins also recalled the investigation conducted after the 2018 scandal, insisting that the Australian players had shared everything they knew with investigators and described the process as an "open book" exercise.

See Also: Watch: “I have moved on”: Mitchell Marsh reflects on ball-tampering questions before AUS vs ENG 1st ODI

Cummins also ruled out taking legal action over Khawaja's comments, despite receiving advice that some of the statements 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. He added that it was time to put the controversy behind them, saying, "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."