WATCH: Pat Cummins’ Brutal Response To Khawaja Over ‘Nonsense’ Sandpaper Claims

Australia captain Pat Cummins has hit back at Usman Khawaja over his allegations surrounding the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, firmly denying that the entire team knew sandpaper was being used on the field. In a lengthy press conference in Sydney, Cummins called the suggestion that he and other players had masterminded a plan to tamper with the ball ‘complete and utter nonsense’.

The comments came after revelations in Khawaja’s book reignited debate over one of the darkest episodes in Australian cricket. Cummins addressed several claims, including what players knew about the sandpaper incident, whether the team had discussed taking collective responsibility and the conduct of the original Cricket Australia investigation.

WATCH: Pat Cummins Calls Khawaja’s Sandpaper Claims ‘Complete And Utter Nonsense’

This is why i have mad respect for PAT CUMMINS https://t.co/AHHe29NTpX

— Navaldeep Singh (@NavalGeekSingh) November 12, 2026

Cummins strongly rejected the suggestion that Australia’s bowling group knew sandpaper was being taken onto the field during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.

“When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he’s 100% wrong,” Cummins said, maintaining that he had consistently denied knowing about the ball-tampering plan.

He was equally dismissive of the allegation that he and other players were architects of a wider scheme to alter the ball’s condition using sandpaper. Cummins said he was shocked to learn that Khawaja had admitted warning Cameron Bancroft to be careful while using it.

The Australia captain described Khawaja as a friend but said the allegations had serious implications for the lives and reputations of those involved. He added that while he supported Khawaja’s right to tell his story, people had to be accountable for what they said.

‘There Was No Master-Plan’: Cummins Defends 2018 Australia Team

Cummins acknowledged that the Australian dressing room had serious cultural problems in 2018. He admitted the side had a ‘win-at-all-costs mentality’, an ‘ugly underbelly’ and too many divisions within the team.

However, he rejected the idea that those problems meant the players had collectively planned to use illegal methods to generate reverse swing.

“There was no master-plan around using illegal methods,” Cummins said. He also denied that there had been a team meeting or a discussion among the bowlers outlining a plan to use sandpaper.

His comments sought to distinguish the wider team culture from the specific allegations about who knew of the ball-tampering operation.

Cummins Surprised By Khawaja’s Port Elizabeth Revelation

Khawaja’s book also alleged that sandpaper had been used on the ball near the boundary before the start of a session during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha.

Cummins said he had no knowledge of that incident before reading the account. He added that the detail had surprised other players he had spoken to as well.

The captain also recalled one separate instance of ball-tampering from early in his career, when a senior New South Wales batter allegedly used a bottle cap on the ball during a Sheffield Shield match. Cummins said the umpires intervened and ordered the player to stop, but declined to identify him.

Cummins Denies Remembering Team Meeting On Collective Responsibility

Khawaja had also claimed that he wanted the entire team to accept collective responsibility for the Cape Town scandal, but that two players had opposed the suggestion.

Cummins said he did not remember any such conversation or a team meeting in which Khawaja had made that proposal. He added that several other people he had spoken to also did not recall it.

He confirmed that he was interviewed during Cricket Australia’s original investigation, conducted by then-head of integrity Iain Roy and high-performance manager Pat Howard. Cummins said he answered the investigators’ questions truthfully and had maintained the same account since 2018.

Khawaja, meanwhile, had alleged that he was not interviewed despite being in the dressing room alongside Bancroft. Cummins said he had spoken to Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg before the press conference to revisit his recollection of the investigation.

Greenberg had already indicated that Cricket Australia would not reopen the probe. Cummins said the decision was for the governing body to make and defended the original investigation as the proper process at the time.

Pat Cummins Rules Out Legal Action Against Khawaja

Cummins confirmed that he had spoken to Khawaja during the week but did not reveal details of their conversation. He said he was still considering how the allegations might affect their long-standing friendship.

The Australia captain said he had been advised that some of the claims could be defamatory, but ruled out taking legal action. He also expressed concern about the impact of the controversy on players’ families, describing the original scandal as a traumatic period for Australian cricket.

Cummins further maintained that the suspensions handed to Steve Smith, David Warner and Bancroft after the 2018 incident had been excessive, calling them ‘way too heavy-handed’ and ‘way over the top’.

He confirmed he had spoken to Smith and said they remained on the same page, dismissing suggestions of a rift following Smith’s withdrawal from the third Test in South Africa due to a neck injury. Cummins said Smith was recovering and that he was looking forward to having him alongside him as vice-captain over the next 12 months.

The latest comments have reopened debate around the Cape Town scandal, with Cummins firmly disputing Khawaja’s account of what the Australian team knew and discussed at the time.

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