Amid the escalating fallout from Usman Khawaja’s book Sabr, former India spinner Murali Kartik has backed the Australian opener and strongly criticized Pat Cummins over his denials regarding the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal. Khawaja wrote in his memoir that the entire Australian side, including Test captain Cummins, knew about the sandpaper plan during the Cape Town Test against South Africa. Cummins flatly denied those claims in a recent press conference, joining teammate Mitchell Starc in accusing Khawaja of fabricating or timing the remarks solely to drive sales for his newly released book. Kartik, however, rejected Cummins’ stance, arguing that bowlers would undoubtedly be aware of any scheme designed to manipulate the ball in their favor. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Kartik noted that although an initial inquiry saw just three players punished, ball tampering is executed purely for the bowlers’ advantage, making it implausible for a bowler to remain unaware while others carry it out. Finding it hard to believe that the bowling group was left out of the loop, Kartik questioned how anyone could buy that explanation, asking whether people were “in kindergarten to accept that sort of thing.” He added that despite years of speculation that David Warner would eventually publish a tell-all story, Khawaja was the one to reveal that everyone in the camp was aware, asserting that the Australian players are now simply closing ranks to maintain a consistent story.
