Pat Cummins spotted in animated exchange with wife Becky amid Khawaja's sandpaper claims

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins was spotted in an animated street-side conversation with his wife Becky in Sydney on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, as the fallout from Usman Khawaja's explosive autobiography continued to reverberate through Australian cricket circles.

The timing of the sighting is significant. Just a day earlier, on November 10, Khawaja released his autobiography titled 'Sabr', in which he alleged that the entire Australian touring party was aware of the sandpaper use during the 2018 Test series in South Africa.

Khawaja's account pointed specifically to the Port Elizabeth Test, where he claimed every member of the squad knew what was happening. Former opening partner David Warner subsequently co-signed Khawaja's version of events, adding further weight to the claims. The street-side exchange with Becky in Sydney, which was first reported by The Australian, drew attention given the charged atmosphere surrounding the renewed 'Sandpaper-gate' debate.

Cummins, who was named Australia's Test captain in November 2021, is currently rested from white-ball commitments, with Australia engaged in series against New Zealand and England across Trans-Tasman and four-Test England fixtures.

What did Pat Cummins say about the renewed sandpaper allegations?

Cummins had addressed the resurfacing of the 2018 controversy directly, ahead of the three-match Test series in South Africa, which Australia lost 2-1. He acknowledged that Khawaja had spoken to him before the autobiography's release, and indicated he had no objection to Khawaja telling his own story. The Australian captain's position was that the matter had been thoroughly dealt with years ago and that the team had since moved on as a group.

"It's obviously a long time ago. All the investigations, everything was done back then. Answered every question a million times. 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.," Cummins said, as quoted by Perth Now.

Cricket Australia has stated it will not reopen its inquiry into the 2018 sandpaper incident. In 2021, Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon had all publicly denied having knowledge of the tampering plot at the time it occurred.

What is Khawaja's position and what happens next?

Khawaja's stance in 'Sabr' is that the knowledge of sandpaper use extended well beyond the three players who were sanctioned. He has been careful in how he frames certain details, acknowledging that his account is deliberately constructed to tell a broader story rather than name individuals outright.

"I'll say again, I've given my statement about what happened the game before. I was very open and honest to what I saw and what conversations I had. Sometimes I'm very specific on things, and sometimes I'm a bit vague on things, and I do it on purpose because I'm trying to tell a story," Khawaja said on ABC.

The original incident occurred in March 2018 during the third Test at Newlands, Cape Town, when Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball. Cricket Australia's investigation resulted in 12-month international bans for Steve Smith and Warner, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban from domestic cricket. Khawaja has now claimed he was not interviewed during Cricket Australia's three-day investigation at the time.