'Utter nonsense', Australia skipper Cummins denies involvement in sandpaper plot

Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins vehemently denied on Friday any involvement in a controversial sandpaper plot to tamper with the ball during a Test match against South Africa in 2018. Cummins dismissed allegations in Usman Khawaja’s recently published autobiography as "utter nonsense," stating that he had never been part of the scheme.

Khawaja claimed in the book that all players in the team knew about the plan, which triggered calls for a new investigation. However, Cummins insisted that he was unaware of any such plan and accused Khawaja of making "far more serious" allegations, including that he and others were the "architects" of the scheme. Former teammates Steve Smith and David Warner were banned from elite cricket for a year, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month suspension for their roles in the ball-tampering incident.

Cummins expressed shock and disappointment over Khawaja's assertion that the trio had paid a "heavy price" for the incident, particularly highlighting Khawaja's statement that he had "thrown Uzzie under the bus." Both players have criticized the 2018 Cricket Australia investigation, which found the three players solely responsible for the plot.

Cummins stated that he respected Khawaja's right to tell his story but felt some of the allegations were "very serious" and had to be addressed.