Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja’s book Sabr continues to ruffle many feathers. According to him, he was overlooked for the interim captain’s role after the Sandpapergate saga broke out in 2018. That moment saw Australian cricket get plunged into chaos.

Khawaja, as per NDTV, wrote about the captaincy snub. “I was a natural selection for interim captain, but was overlooked. I believe the most important reason was that they weren’t ready for a brown Australian cricket captain, even as an interim.”

For the unversed, Steve Smith was the captain of the side during the controversial series. The batter was handed a one-year ban and sent back after the Cape Town Test match. Tim Paine was given the charge of the Test side, a job which he carried on for the next three years.

The current Australia captain Pat Cumminsin his address to the media, refuted those claims. The 33-year-old said Khawaja’s allegation was serious. “I don’t think that’s the case, and of all those he has said, that’s the most serious.”

Cummins also added, “To think that the job I hold is quarantined from people based on the colour of their skin is a very big statement. If you are going to say such things, then you need to have evidence, and don’t think that’s the case. I agree with Usman on a lot of things, but disagree with the statement that an Australian captain has to be of a particular skin colour.”

When asked if racism was indeed a part of the system, the current captain said: “I don’t want to get into that, and it may be a good story for Uzzie.”

David Warner slams Cummins’ statement

David Warner was another central figure in the entire Sandpaper saga and was banned for a year. The 40-year-old is part of the commentary panel for the ongoing AUS vs ENG ODI series. The batter expressed his disappointment with the statement made by Cummins.

Warner was quoted by SportStar as saying, “Cummins was well prepared this morning, and I still stand with Uzzy on what he has written in the book. It is the truth, and I throw my support behind him. I feel for Usman at this moment, as the captain threw him under the bus. I am very disappointed with that.”

The explosive batter also added, “All three of us (Warner, Smith, and Bancroft) paid a huge price for it, and I haven’t spoken about it for eight years. I have to live with those consequences daily, and there is nothing worse than when others speak about the incident and how they were affected by it. The three of us have had to walk out every day and take a lot of abuse.”