The 2018 ball-tampering saga returned to spotlight following the release of Usman Khawaja's autobiography.
Former Australia head coach Justin Langer publicly supported Pat Cummins, stating that the Test captain "did what he had to do" by fronting the media to deny allegations regarding the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal.
Speaking on SEN Radio, Langer praised Cummins for standing up as a leader while urging Australian cricket to move past the revived controversy.
The 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering saga returned to the spotlight following the release of former Australian batter Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr.
In his memoir, Khawaja claimed that the entire Australian team was aware of the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the third Test against South Africa in March 2018.
On Friday (November 13), Cummins held a 70-minute press conference in Sydney to address the book's claims. He firmly denied any prior knowledge of the plot and dismissed Khawaja's assertion that he and others were architects of the scheme as "complete and utter nonsense".
Langer, who took over as head coach following Darren Lehmann's resignation in the wake of the 2018 incident, described Cummins as a strong leader who stepped forward during a renewed "crisis point" in Australian cricket.
“I think he did what he had to do. They're strong leaders; they stand up and it's obviously turned into a crisis point again. There was a great crisis eight years ago and the way it's been reopened this week, there's a crisis in Australian cricket.
“And the captain stood up. Mitch Marsh stood up yesterday, and hopefully that'll put some sort of line in the sand, because we have to move on it,” Langer said.
He noted that the ongoing debate is hurting past, present, and future players as well as the Australian public.
“There's too many people being hurt in Australian cricket, there's too many people, and that includes the Australian public.
“When I talk about Australian cricket, it's about the public, it's about the fans, it's about the players, it's about everyone who's involved, the past players, the present players, future players,” Langer added.
According to Langer, time would tell whether Cummins' detailed press conference would help settle or further fuel the tension across the cricket community.
“We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere. Too many people are getting hurt, Australian cricket's being hurt, and whether the press conference is going to help that, or hinder it, time will tell.”
Meanwhile, former Australia opener David Warner strongly criticized Pat Cummins for dismissing Usman Khawaja's claims
Speaking on Fox Sports, Warner backed Khawaja's account as the "truth," expressed deep disappointment that Cummins threw his teammate "under the bus," and reiterated that he, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft have carried a lifelong burden and consequence from the 2018 incident.