Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has broken his silence about sandpapergate, rejecting claims his side were aware of the 2018 ball tampering plot.
Speaking to reporters at Olympic Park on Friday morning, Cummins said: "When [Usman Khawaja] says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he's 100 per cent wrong."
"I have said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening, but I think Usman actually says things that are actually far more serious than that."
The scandal resurfaced this week after Usman Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January, claimed in his new autobiography, Sabr, that the entire team knew about ball tampering during the a test match against South Africa in 2018.
Cummins said those claims were "complete and utter nonsense".
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"I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam [Bancroft] to be careful when using sandpaper," he said.
"That's not the Usman that I know. It's not the Usman that I think, or that has been part of a team that's helped rebuild this strange cricket culture over the last eight years."
A Cricket Australia investigation at the time found Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner were the only ones involved in the ball-tampering and it was a one-off incident. The trio were subsequently suspended and fined.
Khawaja claimed in his book that Bancroft to be careful and avoid being scapegoated when the 2018 ball-tampering scandal unfolded in Cape Town.
He also alleged there had been ball tampering during an earlier match.
Warner has backed Khawaja, naming his claims as "100 per cent accurate" and labeled Cricket Australia's investigation as "rushed and botched".
Cricket Australia said it stood by its findings, with chief executive Todd Greenberg saying on Tuesday it would not reopen the investigation.
Khawaja has faced criticism over the timing of his allegations, which coincide with the release of his book.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
