Former India spinner Murali Kartik has weighed in on the growing controversy surrounding Usman Khawaja’s recent comments about the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal in Australian cricket. In his memoir Sabr, Khawaja suggested that the entire Australian squad, including current Test captain Pat Cummins, knew about the plan to tamper with the ball using sandpaper during the Cape Town Test against South Africa. Cummins strongly denied the allegations during a recent press conference, insisting he had no involvement in or knowledge of the plot. Alongside fellow pacer Mitchell Starc, Cummins accused Khawaja of making the claims merely to promote and sell his book, with Starc questioning both the timing and the motive behind the revelations. However, Kartik has thrown his support behind Khawaja and sharply criticized Cummins, arguing that the bowlers would have been the first to know if such a plan was underway. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Kartik pointed out that while a mini-probe at the time saw only three players punished, ball tampering is inherently done to benefit the bowlers, making it impossible to believe a bowler wouldn’t know when teammates were altering the ball on their behalf. Kartik expressed disbelief that only three individuals bore the brunt of the scandal, questioning how anyone could expect the public to accept that the bowling attack was kept in the dark when the act was meant to help them. Asking rhetorically if people were “in kindergarten” to believe such a claim, Kartik noted that while many had long expected David Warner to eventually release a tell-all account, it was Khawaja who finally spoke out to confirm what he believes everyone already knew, adding that the Australian players are simply trying to stick to a unified narrative.
Pat Cummins Breaks Silence on Usman Khawaja’s Sandpapergate Claims
