Sandpaper Gate erupts again! David Warner backs Usman Khawaja, takes aim at Pat Cummins

Khawaja's claims have triggered a public exchange between Cummins and Warner, with the former rejecting the allegations while the latter has backed his former teammate.

Cummins strongly dismissed Khawaja's revelations, describing the suggestion that he and other Australian players were involved in planning the ball-tampering incident as "complete and utter nonsense".

Pat Cummins rejects Khawaja's allegations

Addressing a press conference, the Australian skipper said, "When he says 'we all knew', if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on 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."

Rejecting allegations that he helped plan the ball-tampering incident, Cummins added, "He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper; that's complete and utter nonsense."

Expressing his surprise over Khawaja's revelations, he said, "I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam [Bancroft] to be careful when using sandpaper."

David Warner backs Usman Khawaja

Warner, one of the three Australian players banned over the incident in 2018, strongly supported Khawaja and criticised Cummins over his response.

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

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

What is the Sandpaper Gate controversy?

The controversy dates back to the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught on television cameras using sandpaper to alter the condition of the cricket ball.

The objective was to roughen one side of the ball to generate reverse swing and gain an unfair advantage.

Following an investigation, Cricket Australia imposed a 12-month suspension on then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban.

The three players were identified as responsible for the ball-tampering incident.

What did Usman Khawaja reveal in his autobiography?

In his autobiography Sabr, Khawaja claimed that knowledge of the ball-tampering plan extended beyond the three players who were punished.

His central assertion was that the entire Australian team was aware of the plan.

"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja wrote.

He also alleged that sandpaper had been used during the previous Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.

According to his account, discussions about roughening the ball took place within the Australian dressing room.

Khawaja's revelations have raised fresh questions about the extent of the team's knowledge of the incident and whether the original investigation fully established the involvement of everyone who may have been aware of the plan.