Pat Cummins Calls Khawaja Sandpaper Claims ‘Complete Utter Nonsense’
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins denied Usman Khawaja's claims that the whole 2018 team knew of the ball-tampering plot. Speaking in Sydney on November 13, 2026, he called the allegations nonsense. David Warner then accused Cummins of throwing Khawaja under the bus.
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins on Friday, November 13, 2026, rejected Usman Khawaja's sandpaper allegations as "complete and utter nonsense" at a press conference in Sydney. It was a flat denial, and it pulled David Warner back into the row.
Cummins appeared at Cricket New South Wales' headquarters and took questions for more than an hour. He denied the claims in Khawaja's book, Sabr, that the whole team was implicated in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
What Khawaja alleges
Khawaja claims more than the three banned players knew of the plan. He also says sandpaper was used on the ball during the preceding Test, and he has called for "all" of the team to take collective responsibility.
Steve Smith, then captain, vice-captain Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft received long suspensions from Cricket Australia after a short investigation.
Cummins' response
Cummins said he did not know sandpaper was going onto the field. "When he says we all knew, if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he's 100% wrong," he said.
He rejected the idea that he was involved in planning. "He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense," Cummins said.
He said Khawaja was a friend and that he had been "grappling" over recent days with whether their relationship was irrevocably harmed. "Friends aren't casual with each other's lives and reputations," he said. Cummins and Khawaja played 56 Tests together before Khawaja retired from international cricket in January.
Cummins also said there was "no masterplan around using illegal methods". He said no bowlers declared "this is what must happen".
He did concede the 2018 side had a "win-at-all-cost mentality" and an "ugly underbelly". He said he had tried to remove it in his six years as captain. "I didn't like the way we spoke to umpires, the opposition," he said.
Warner hits back
Warner, appearing as a commentator on Kayo soon after the press conference, said he stood by Khawaja's account. "I actually feel that the captain today threw Uzzy under the bus and I'm very disappointed by that," he said.
He added that he was still being called the architect and the fixer, and that it hurt. "Until the truth is accepted, it's going to be very, very difficult to move on," Warner said.
