Pat Cummins Unfazed By Usman Khawaja's Sandpaper Scandal Book

Australia captain Pat Cummins has indicated he is entirely unbothered by the prospect of the infamous 2018 sandpaper scandal being revisited in Usman Khawaja’s upcoming autobiography.

Khawaja, a former Test opener, is penning the book without a ghost writer, with publication slated for next month just days after Australia wraps up its first Test tour of South Africa since that notorious match.

The 2018 Cape Town series remains a watershed moment in Australian cricket history, having resulted in 12-month bans for then-captain Steve Smith and opening batsman David Warner, alongside a nine-month suspension for Cameron Bancroft.

While historical reports suggested Khawaja previously advocated for the entire team to shoulder joint responsibility during the investigation, Cricket Australia's inquiry found no evidence that other players were aware of the prohibited substance plot.

Furthermore, Australia's bowling attack previously released a formal statement denying any prior knowledge of foreign substances being introduced to the match ball.

Ahead of the opening Test in Durban, Cummins revealed that Khawaja personally telephoned him to inform him about the book project.

Addressing reporters regarding whether Khawaja plans to detail specific versions of past events, Cummins responded, 'You would have to ask him. It’s obviously a long time ago. All the investigations, everything was done back then. Answered every question a million times.'

Affirming the team's unified stance on moving past historical controversies, the Australian skipper added, 'It was dealt with then, all I can say is as a group we’ve moved on. Very happy with the last eight or nine years, how we’ve been as a group and evolved. He didn’t go into too much detail ... As always it was “no worries, you can tell your story, that’s fine”.'