Melbourne, Nov 14 — Pakistan's legendary former fast bowler Wasim Akram reacted to the reignited Sandpapergate scandal that has rocked Australian cricket yet again.
Following Usman Khawaja's explosive claim that the whole Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper on the ball during the Cape Town Test, Australian cricketers have differing views on the episode. While former cricketer and one of the three sanctioned David Warner has backed Khawaja, current captain Pat Cummins, who was one of the bowlers during the infamous Cape Town Test of 2018, has lambasted Khawaja.
Now Akram shared his opinions on the scandal, questioning how Cummins, who was a key part of the bowling group, did not know that the ball had been tampered with.
He stated that teams manage the ball to get shine on one side and rough on the other for generating reverse swing, a "sandpaper scratch is totally different than the one bounce scratch" that happens when the ball is bounced on the ground. He added that as a bowler, "I'll know straight away something is not right."
"I saw Pat Cummins, who's a very close friend of mine, a great cricketer and one of the top leaders in world cricket, saying that he didn't know. So probably the team didn't know at the time what was happening, in my opinion. It's my opinion. It can be right or wrong.
"But as a bowler, when the cricket ball comes in my hand, either it's the fifth over, either it's in the 10th over, or either it's in the 50th over, the old ball, where you look after the ball, you shine the one side; if it's a dry day, dry square, you one bounce throw, you get scratch a bit. But the sandpaper scratch is totally different from the one-bounce scratch," Akram said in a video posted on social media.
Akram, known as a master of reverse swing, asked the fans to check for themselves how different the scratches look when sandpaper is rubbed over the ball. "And as a cricket lover, if you want to check, grab a semi-new cricket ball, grab a piece of sandpaper, and rub it in; you know, the scratches are totally different," he said before claiming that he is not taking sides with anybody.
"So again, as I said, I'm not taking anybody's sides. And Australians are known and famous for their straightforwardness, hardness on the field, off the field, and most importantly, honesty. And I think that's what the whole nation has been, you know, under stress a bit, obviously, eight years ago and back to it again. I hope things get sorted out."
He further raised questions about Cummins and the bowlers, who had jointly issued a statement in 2021 denying having knowledge of the ball-tampering plan. "This is my take on this issue: as a bowler, especially an experienced bowler, I'll have a look at the ball, and I'll know straight away something is not right," the former Pakistan cricketer concluded.
Cummins recently lambasted Khawaja's claims that the whole team knew about the scandal. The Aussie skipper said the former opener was "100% wrong" to claim everyone knew about the ball-tampering plan, calling it "complete and utter nonsense".
"When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he's 100% wrong," Cummins said. "I've said that consistently for the last eight years, I did not know that was happening.
"But I think Usman actually says things that are actually far more serious than that.
"He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball-tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense. I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam (Bancroft) to be careful when using sandpaper," Cummins had said on Khawaja's claims.