Pat Cummins threw Khawaja under the bus: David Warner on Sandpapergate denial

Detailed summary

David Warner has thrown his weight behind Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate revelations, accusing Pat Cummins of throwing his former teammate under the bus after the Australia captain dismissed the claims as 'utter nonsense'.

Former Australia opener David Warner has hit back at Pat Cummins after the Australia captain rejected Usman Khawaja's revelations about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, accusing him of throwing his former teammate under the bus. Warner said he stood firmly by Khawaja's account of the infamous Sandpapergate episode and was disappointed with Cummins' public response.

Speaking on Fox Cricket ahead of Australia's first ODI against England, Warner said Khawaja had told the truth in his autobiography, Sabr, and deserved support rather than criticism.

"I still stick by Uzzy, and what he's written in that book, because it is the truth, and I really, really support him," Warner said.

"I actually feel for him at the moment. I actually feel that today, the captain threw Uzzy under the bus, and I'm very, very disappointed about that."

Warner's comments came after Cummins addressed the controversy in an hour-long press conference, strongly rejecting Khawaja's claims about the extent of the Australian team's knowledge of the ball-tampering episode during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa.

"If by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he's 100 per cent wrong. I've said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening," Cummins said.

The Australia captain also took issue with Khawaja's suggestion that he and other members of the team were architects of a plan to alter the condition of the ball.

"That's complete and utter nonsense," Cummins said, adding that he was disappointed with the way Khawaja had handled the revelations.

Cummins said the book had been casual with his life and the reputations of others, and questioned why Khawaja had not intervened when he allegedly knew that sandpaper was being used. He also said the revelations had reopened a painful chapter for those involved.

Opening of the article, excerpted from India Today. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.