Australian men's cricket team captain Pat Cummins speaks in Sydney, Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, about the Sandpapergate cheating scandal. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
\n\nUsman Khawaja's bombshell claims over the 2018 sandpaper scandal have dragged Australian cricket's darkest chapter back into the spotlight. Khawaja opened a can of worms in his book Sabr, and alleged that the Australian team was fully aware of the ball-tampering during the Cape Town Test against South Africa, contradicting Cricket Australia's investigation that punished Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith, while giving a clean chit to others.
\n\nPat Cummins, the current Australian captain, and part of the Cape Town Test, didn't mince words while slamming Khawaja, calling his allegations 'nonsense'.
\n\nKhawaja also claimed that he couldn't become the Australian captain because of his skin colour. He said that after Steve Smith was sent back home following the scandal, he should have been the interim skipper; however, Australia was not ready to have a brown captain.
\n\n"I was a natural selection for interim captain, but was overlooked," said Khawaja.
\n\n"The second, and, I believe, more important, reason was that they weren't ready for a brown Australian cricket captain, even as an interim."
\n\n"I think of the things…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports
