Cummins played down speculation over the former teammate Usman Khawaja’s autobiography Sabr as the infamous Sandpapergate scandal returns to the headlines. But as Australia prepares for its first Test tour of South Africa since the controversy, there are questions about the ball-tampering incident which will be at the forefront of the team's minds as we go into the first match in Durban. The former fielder, who was in the Cape Town Test in 2018, says the team has moved on from it and is happy for Khawaja to tell his own story.
The renewed attention comes nearly eight and a half years after the scandal damaged Australian cricket’s reputation and resulted in significant suspensions for Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Khawaja’s book will revisit aspects of the controversy, but the extent of it and whether it contains new information remain unclear.
Cummins confirmed that Khawaja had contacted him several weeks earlier to give him a heads-up about the book. The Australian captain said he had not been given a detailed account of what the autobiography would contain and expressed no objection to his former teammate telling his story.
Pat Cummins Says He Is Not Concerned About Khawaja’s Book
Cummins added that his conversation with Khawaja was brief and mainly focused on informing him about the upcoming publication. The former Australian opener did not go into detail on the contents, so Cummins did not have a sense of what the book could say about Sandpapergate.
“Uz gave me a buzz a few weeks back, [saying] that he's releasing a book,” Cummins said. He added that Khawaja had basically given him advance notice and his answer was “No worries, you can tell your story. That’s fine.”
When asked if he worried about any revelations, Cummins said that questions about the incident have already been addressed through the investigations and subsequent discussions. He also said Khawaja was the appropriate person to answer questions about his own account.
“It’s obviously a long time ago. All the investigations, everything was done back then. Answered every question a million times,” Cummins said.
“It was dealt with then,” he said, adding that the Australian team had moved on since the episode.
His answer indicates his intent is to not speculate about what the autobiography really contains before it is published. It also indicates his wish to keep the focus on Australia's current cricket commitments instead of letting a bad past matter to the team's preparation.
What Happened During The 2018 Sandpapergate Scandal?
Sandpapergate erupted during the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018. Television footage showed Bancroft using sandpaper on the ball, in order to illegally change its condition and affect its movement through the air.
The incident created a major crisis for Australian cricket. Smith, who was captain at the time, resigned from the position and Warner gave up the vice-captaincy. Cricket Australia then imposed long suspensions on all three players for their involvement in the ball-tampering incident. Smith and Warner both received 12-month bans while Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
Cummins and Khawaja were also in the Australian team that day. But Cricket Australia has found no evidence of other players knowing about the plan to use sandpaper, and Australia's bowlers have previously denied knowing that a foreign substance would be taken onto the field. It is not clear that Khawaja’s autobiography will overturn those findings.
The controversy remains one of the most damaging episodes in Australia's modern cricket history. Beyond the suspensions, it was widely discussed in the team's culture and led to a deeper examination of conduct, accountability and leadership in Australian cricket.
Why Usman Khawaja’s Autobiography Has Attracted Attention
Khawaja's upcoming book has attracted attention as he was in the squad at the Cape Town Test and has previously argued that responsibility for that incident should have been more widely shared within the team. The latter position has kept questions about collective accountability alive, even after the formal investigation and disciplinary process is complete.
The autobiography, Sabr, will be released on November 10 after Australia’s three-Test tour to South Africa. Khawaja wrote it himself and did not hire a ghostwriter, which adds to the curiosity of his personal story of his career and experiences with Australian cricket.
But the book's actual contents have not been completely revealed. Any suggestion that it will reveal previously unknown details about the scandal remains speculative until the relevant passages become available.
Cummins’ comments also make clear that he doesn’t claim to know what Khawaja will reveal. He has acknowledged his former teammate’s right to tell his own story and directed questions about the book towards its author.
SuperSport Revives Memories Ahead Of Australia’s Return
The controversy has also been brought back into public discussion by South African broadcaster SuperSport, which posted footage of the 2018 incident on social media ahead of the new Test series. “Our cameras will be sharp,” it said, in reference to the broadcast footage that exposed Bancroft's actions in Cape Town.
The timing has added another layer to the build-up, with Australia returning to South Africa for the first time since the scandal. The first Test will be played at Kingsmead in Durban, and the third one at Newlands in Cape Town, the site of the original dispute.
Despite the attention, Cummins has said the current Australian team is quite different from the group involved in the 2018 incidents. “The team has evolved into the next generation and I am proud of how we have played so far since the incident,” he said.
For Cummins, the focus is on Australia on the field. Khawaja's autobiography could reopen the debate about one of the most controversial moments in Australian cricket, but the captain has made it clear that he is not worried about the book’s arrival.
When the South Africa series begins, attention will be divided between the cricket itself and the continuing legacy of Sandpapergate. And whether *Sabr* offers new perspectives to the story will come to light once it is released, but Cummins' position is already clear: the former opener is free to tell his story, and Australia's current team intends to move forward.
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