Perth, 13 November (H.S.): Former Australia opener David Warner has expressed strong displeasure over captain Pat Cummins’ response to the renewed controversy surrounding the 2018 sandpaper scandal, accusing him of throwing Usman Khawaja under the bus. Warner said he was deeply disappointed with the captain’s remarks and firmly backed Khawaja’s account of the ball-tampering episode.

Speaking as a commentator for Fox Sports during the opening One-Day International between Australia and England in Perth, Warner defended Khawaja, whose recently released autobiography has brought the controversial events surrounding the 2018 Cape Town Test back into the spotlight.

“Pat Cummins came very well prepared this morning. But I still stand by Uzzie (Usman Khawaja) and what he has written in his book. It is the truth, and I fully support him. I genuinely feel for him at the moment. I think the captain threw Uzzie under the bus today, and I am very, very disappointed about that,” Warner said.

Warner said that he, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft had paid a heavy price for the scandal and continued to face its consequences even eight years later. He also spoke candidly about the personal toll the episode had taken on his family.

“All three of us have paid a very heavy price for this. I had not spoken about it for eight years, but at the end of the day, we have to live with the consequences every single day. We have been handed a punishment that will last a lifetime. So, when other people talk about how they were affected by it, nothing could be worse for Steve, Cameron and me, because we have to walk out onto the field every day and face abuse from people,” he said.

“Yes, we accepted our mistake, but ultimately, my wife and I paid the greatest price. We lost a baby during that period, and until the truth is acknowledged, that will remain what hurts me the most,” Warner added.

The former opener also questioned the credibility of the investigation conducted by Cricket Australia following the incident. He argued that the manner in which the inquiry was initially handled made it difficult for those involved to return and present further evidence.

“It has been extremely difficult because of the way the matter was handled initially. It made it hard for us to go back and provide further evidence. I felt that the investigation was not conducted properly. It was an inquiry carried out in haste simply to bring the matter to a quick conclusion,” Warner said.

He further claimed that the three players had not been given another opportunity to present their accounts, adding that recent developments had left him expecting some behind-the-scenes discussions.

“We were never given another opportunity to go back and put forward our side of the story. Todd Greenberg ruled out that possibility recently. So, I had thought that perhaps there would be some discussions behind the scenes following all of this,” he said.

Earlier, Cummins had dismissed Khawaja’s allegations as “100 per cent wrong” and “complete and utter nonsense”. In his recently released autobiography, Khawaja claimed that the entire Australian team, including Cummins, knew about the plan to tamper with the ball during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa.

Cummins has strongly denied having any knowledge of the plan or being involved in its formulation.

The scandal resulted in suspensions for Smith, Warner and Bancroft, who were found to have been involved in the ball-tampering episode. Warner’s latest comments underline how deeply personal and emotionally charged the controversy remains for him. He believes that the circumstances surrounding the incident, as well as the investigation that followed, have yet to be examined adequately and transparently.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar