Cummins seen in animated chat with wife ahead of Sandpapergate press conference

Pat Cummins was spotted in an animated conversation with wife Becky in Sydney, marking his first public appearance since Usman Khawaja reignited the Sandpapergate controversy. The Australia captain is now preparing to address the allegations at a press conference.Cummins and is wife were seen in an animated chat in the former'f first appearance since Khawaja's claims. (Photo: Instagram/patcummins30))New Delhi,Nov 12, 2026 07:33 ISTAustralia captain Pat Cummins was spotted having an animated conversation with his wife, Becky, on a Sydney street, in his first public appearance since Usman Khawaja's explosive claims about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. The footage has emerged as Cummins prepares to address the controversy surrounding Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr.According to footage published by The Australian on Wednesday, Cummins and Becky were seen engaged in a discussion before entering a nearby property. Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, the Australian captain appeared relatively quiet during the exchange. He is currently resting from Australia's white-ball series against England ahead of their upcoming four-Test series against New Zealand.Cummins had earlier maintained that the 2018 scandal had been investigated thoroughly and that the Australian team had moved on from the episode."It's obviously a long time ago. All the investigations, everything was done back then. Answered every question a million times," Cummins had said. "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. He didn't go into too much detail... As always it was 'no worries, you can tell your story, that's fine'."Khawaja's autobiography has reopened the debate over the Cape Town Test of 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to alter the ball. Cricket Australia subsequently suspended Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith, with the latter two also losing leadership positions.KHAWAJA PUTS BOWLING GROUP UNDER SPOTLIGHT Khawaja has alleged that knowledge of the ball-tampering plan extended across the Australian dressing room and coaching staff, and that the practice had begun during the previous Test in Port Elizabeth. He has also questioned why the investigation did not interview him, despite him being part of the touring squad.Warner has backed Khawaja's account, describing his claims as accurate. Mitchell Starc, however, has stood by the bowling group's earlier position that they were unaware of sandpaper being taken onto the field.Cummins has now called a press conference at Cricket Central in Sydney for Friday morning, offering to answer questions about the allegations. He said he had taken time to understand the full extent of Khawaja's claims before responding.The appearance will put the Australia captain under renewed scrutiny, particularly over what the bowling group knew about the events in South Africa and the joint statement issued by the quartet in 2021.- Ends