Paine, who had told Ashwin about ‘his team-mates liking him at least, ••••••’, had also told Rishabh Pant to babysit his kids during the third Test at Melbourne earlier in 2018-2019 to which Pant had replied terming Paine as ‘temporary captain’. (Screengrab: X/cricket.com.au)
With the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia being remembered for India’s come from behind historic 2-1 win in 2020-21, the then Australian wicket-keeper sledging Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin during the historic 256-ball 62-run-partnership to save the Sydney Test remains one of the highlights of the series. The former wicket-keeper was told by Ashwin that the India series will be his last as the stump mic caught the two having a banter.
Paine, who had told Ashwin about ‘his team-mates liking him at least, ••••••’, had also told Rishabh Pant to babysit his kids during the third Test at Melbourne earlier in 2018-2019 to which Pant had replied terming Paine as ‘temporary captain’. The former Australian wicket-keeper has now termed technology as funny, drawing comparisons of the sledging incidents to the alleged ball tampering comments by umpire Shawn Craig during India A’s unofficial Test against Australia earlier this month.
“Both the Pant and Ashwin lines were captured on stump mic, just as umpire Shawn Craig’s comments to India A players were during the recent A match in Mackay where I was working with the Australia A side. It’s funny with technology. You notice all the wires and cameras when you walk onto the ground but once the match begins you are so absorbed in the contest that you can easily forget what you are saying is being beamed live to millions of people. Usually it’s fine but every now and again you can run into trouble and that’s what lingers with the public,” Paine wrote in his column for Codesports.
It was Rishabh Pant’s turn for some fun on the stump mic today… #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/RS8I6kI55f
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 29, 2018
While Paine was the captain during the 2018-2019 home series against Australia due to Steve Smith’s ban after ball tampering scandal in South Africa, the Australian wicket-keeper had played first against India in 2010 in a Test match. With India winning the 2018-2019 series 2-1 under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, Paine recalled how the Indian team transitioned and how he wants to model his game on Pant if he was to start his career again. “When I first played India in a two-Test series away in 2010, they didn’t chirp at all much on the field, except for Harbhajan Singh. But by the time we played them again eight years later, so much had changed. It was clear that Virat Kohli was shaping a team in his image: fit, aggressive and unapologetic. From quite a poor fielding side they had become excellent in that regard.
The sledging against Rishabh Pant didn’t really work, and he proved to be our undoing at the Gabba in 2021. I have huge admiration for Pant the cricketer, in fact if I was to start my career again I would model my game on his brash and fearless style,” wrote Paine.
Paine also praised former Indian coach Ravi Shastri’s attitude. Paine, who played in 35 Test matches for Australia, had retired from cricket in 2023. The former wicket-keeper believes that the current coach Gautam Gambhir is feeling the pressure ahead of the Border-Gavaskar series starting November 22. “One of the things that I thought really helped India in those two away series wins against us was the attitude of their coach Ravi Shastri. Boisterous and seemingly carefree, he emboldened his players not to be daunted despite circumstances conspiring against them and rebound from the adversity of being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide in the first Test of 2020-21. I have serious reservations about new coach Gautam Gambhir and whether his temperament and approach suits this group of Indian players. Biting back against Ricky Ponting’s comments about Kohli betrayed a man too worried about things outside of his control and suggested that the former Indian opener is feeling the pressure after the home series loss to New Zealand,” signed off Paine.
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