Cummins to respond to Khawaja's 'Sandpapergate' claims on Friday

Australia captain Pat Cummins announced that he will hold a press conference on Friday morning following the claims made by his former teammate Usman Khawaja. In a post on his X account, Cummins wrote that he would be happy to speak with all members of the media at 09.30 in Sydney.

In his new book 'Sabr', Khawaja claimed that the ball-tampering plan during the 2018 Test match in Cape Town was known to the entire squad. The incident has resurfaced eight years later. At the time, only Cameron Bancroft, then captain Steve Smith and David Warner were punished. On Monday, Warner said Khawaja's account was '100 percent accurate'.

The bowling group, which included Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon, had stayed away from the incident. In a statement released in 2021 responding to claims they described as 'gossip and innuendo', these four players said they did not know that a foreign substance had been brought onto the field to alter the ball. Cummins was rested for the white-ball series. The first one-day match of the series will be played in Perth on Friday.

Cricket Australia chairman David Boon said Cummins' captaincy was not under threat. Boon said Cummins had led the team with integrity and success. Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg had earlier stated that the 'Sandpapergate' investigation would not be reopened. Starc said he had not paid much attention to the claims. Mitch Marsh declined to comment on the matter.