Australia captain Pat Cummins has hit back at former teammate Usman Khawaja over his claims about the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, calling them "complete and utter nonsense" and saying the former opener was "100 percent wrong".
Khawaja reignited the controversy with the release of his autobiography, Sabr, this week.
In a chapter dedicated to the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, which people dedcribe it as Sandpapergate.
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The former Australia opener alleged that the entire team, including Cummins, knew about the plan to use sandpaper to rough up the ball and generate reverse swing.
The controversy centred around the third Test in Cape Town in March 2018. However, Khawaja also claimed that the tactic had been used during the second Test in Port Elizabeth.
A Cricket Australia investigation at the time concluded that only David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft knew about the plan. All three were sent home from the tour and handed bans following the scandal.
Smith was also removed as captain, with Tim Paine taking over the leadership role before Cummins eventually became Australia's Test captain.
"When he says we all knew, if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he's 100 percent wrong," a candid Cummins said at a press conference.
"I said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening. But I think Usman actually says things that are far more serious than that. He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper."
"That's complete and utter nonsense."
Cummins, along with fellow Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, had publicly denied knowing about the ball-tampering plan in a joint statement in 2021.
Warner, however, has strongly backed Khawaja's account this week. Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has denied having any knowledge of the plan, while former batting coach Graeme Hick has also dismissed Khawaja's allegations as "absolutely false".
Starc reiterated his position this week, saying that "we weren't aware of things being taken on the field". Lyon and Hazlewood have not publicly responded to the latest claims, while Smith and Bancroft have also remained silent.
Cummins also questioned the way Khawaja had made the allegations public, accusing the former opener of being "flippant" about the claims nearly eight years after the incident.
"Usman is a friend, but friends aren't casual with each other's lives and reputations," he said.
"In his book he's been casual with my life and the lives of many others and I think Australian cricket.
"I think the way that he's presented his story, I think he's done that in a very casual manner. And it affects a lot of people," he added.
During his media interactions this week, Khawaja said he had spoken to the team in the dressing room after the Cape Town Test and urged the players to take collective responsibility instead of allowing Warner, Smith and Bancroft to become the only ones held accountable.
However, Cummins said he had no recollection of the conversation described by Khawaja.
"I don't remember any conversation around collective responsibility. I don't remember any team meeting where he stood up and said, 'Let's own this as a team'," he noted.
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Meanwhile, Cricket Australia has ruled out reopening its investigation into the 2018 scandal. CA chairman David Boon also assured Cummins on Thursday that his position as captain was safe, irrespective of the controversy.
Cummins acknowledged that Australia's team culture around 2018 had an ugly win-at-all-costs mentality, which eventually contributed to the Cape Town scandal. However, he said the team's culture had been "absolutely brilliant" since then.
"I didn't like the way we spoke to umpires, the opposition. I think there was a bit of an arrogance and a bit of an ugliness at times that didn't sit well with me as a young guy," he said.
"And now I'm captain, I have spent a lot of time making sure that that's not the case with this current Aussie team."
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