# Australia captain Pat Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/australia-captain-pat-cummins-denies-involvement-in-sandpapergate-scandal/
- Published: 2026-11-13T06:13:11+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T08:54:39+00:00
- Original publisher: Al Jazeera (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/11/13/pat-cummins-australia-usman-khawaja-sandpapergate-test-south-africa?traffic_source=rss
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Cummins denies knowing about or planning the sandpaper plot.
- Khawaja’s book has renewed calls for an investigation.
- Warner says Khawaja’s account is true.

## Summary

Australia captain Pat Cummins has again denied knowing about or helping plan the use of sandpaper to alter the ball during the 2018 Test series against South Africa. His response follows former teammate Usman Khawaja’s claim that players knew about the tactic, prompting calls for the incident to be investigated again.

Khawaja’s autobiography also alleges that Cummins and others were architects of a wider plan, which Cummins called “utter nonsense”; he said there was no team meeting or master plan. Steve Smith and David Warner each received a year-long ban, while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months. Warner has defended Khawaja’s account, and Cummins also rejected Khawaja’s claim that his background affected his chances of becoming captain.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.