Perth: Former Australian opener David Warner has reignited the infamous 2018 ball-tampering controversy, accusing Cricket Australia (CA) of conducting a questionable investigation and allegedly maintaining a misleading narrative about the involvement of team members.

Warner's remarks came amid a fresh dispute involving Australian captain Pat Cummins and former teammate Usman Khawaja, whose autobiography *Sabr* has brought the Cape Town Test scandal back into the spotlight.

Warner Questions Cricket Australia's Investigation

In a social media post on Saturday, Warner claimed that Cricket Australia did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon during its 2018 investigation into the ball-tampering incident.

Warner questioned how the governing body could maintain that the Australian bowlers were unaware of the ball-tampering episode if they had not been interviewed.

He alleged that the investigation appeared to have predetermined whom to blame and described it as a “shoddy investigation”, accusing CA of maintaining what he called a “false narrative”.

Cricket Australia Responds to Warner's Allegations

Responding to Warner's claims, a Cricket Australia spokesperson said all players had been given an opportunity to speak during the initial investigation.

The spokesperson added that players and former players had also been able to present new evidence over the subsequent eight years.

CA further stated that it had respected every player's right to provide their own version of events.

Cummins Rejects Khawaja's Allegations

The controversy intensified after Pat Cummins addressed questions about Khawaja's autobiography during a 68-minute press conference on Friday.

Cummins strongly rejected allegations that he and other teammates had been architects of the ball-tampering scheme involving sandpaper during the 2018 Cape Town Test.

The Australian ODI captain said he had consistently maintained that he did not know about the incident at the time.

Cummins also expressed surprise over Khawaja's admission that he had warned Cameron Bancroft to be careful while using sandpaper.

He said the actions described in the book did not reflect the Usman Khawaja he knew, adding that the allegations had affected the reputations of several former teammates.

Warner Backs Khawaja, Criticises Cummins

Speaking during the broadcast of the England-Australia ODI series opener in Perth on Friday, Warner defended Khawaja and expressed disappointment with Cummins' response.

Warner said he stood by Khawaja and believed the account in his autobiography was truthful.

He also accused Cummins of throwing Khawaja under the bus during his press conference, saying he felt for his childhood friend amid the renewed controversy.

2018 Sandpaper Gate Controversy Returns

The ball-tampering scandal erupted during Australia's 2018 Test against South Africa in Cape Town after Cameron Bancroft was caught attempting to alter the ball using sandpaper.

Warner, Steve Smith and Bancroft faced significant sanctions following the incident, which triggered a major crisis in Australian cricket.

The latest exchange between Warner, Cummins and Khawaja has once again reopened questions about what teammates knew during the scandal and how Cricket Australia's investigation was conducted.