SENSEX
NIFTY
GOLD
USD/INR

Weather

image 29    C

Cricket News

CNMSports

Cricket / CNMSports

details

Pat Cummins Disputes Khawaja 'Skin Colour' Captaincy Claim

Pat Cummins disputed Friday a claim by former teammate Usman Khawaja that he was never appointed Australian captain because of his skin colour, saying: I just don't think that's the case. Khawaja opened a can of worms this week with the publication of his autobiography that revisits the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa that rattled Australian cricket. He also revealed in the book that he was upset when overlooked to be captain after then-skipper Steve Smith was sent home from Cape Town. Tim Paine got the job instead and was succeeded by Cummins in 2021. I was a natural selection for interim captain, but was overlooked, said Khawaja, Australia's first Pakistan-born national player who was Queensland captain at the time. He suggested it was because he had been a prominent protagonist during earlier pay disputes with Cricket Australia, but also due to his heritage. The second - and, I believe, more important - reason was that they weren't ready for a brown Australian cricket captain, even as an interim. Cummins said he did not agree with Khawaja's rationale. I think of the things I've read, that's the most serious, Cummins said at a press conference to address the ball-tampering allegations reignited by Khawaja. To think that the job I hold is quarantined from people based on their skin colour, it's a pretty big statement. If you are going to say that I think you have to have evidence. And I just don't think that's the case. Again, I agree with Usman on a lot of things but I disagree with him saying that if you're Australian captain you have to be of a certain skin colour, I have to disagree with that statement. The now-retired Khawaja, who immigrated as a child, has often spoken about the racism he faced from a young age, but has been reluctant to take any credit for opening doors. Asked if he had seen conduct he considered racist since becoming Australian captain, Cummins said: I'd rather not go into that. I think that's maybe a story for Uzzie. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories But nothing since I've been captain that I can think of.

13 Nov 2026 8:53 am