Sexting scandal to expletive-filled rant: The controversial reign of Tim Paine as Australia’s Test captain

#3 Frustrated Paine’s ugly tirade against Ashwin

Tim Paine chats with Ravichandran Ashwin during the Sydney Test. Pic: Getty Images

An injured Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin's blockathon during the Sydney Test clearly left Paine frustrated. He tried to needle the latter but chose the wrong man. Paine got extremely abusive and passed snide personal remarks about the Indian off-spinner.

The Aussie wicketkeeper was caught on stump mic telling Ashwin:

“At least my teammates like me, dick***d. I’ve got a lot more Indian friends than you do.”

In another pathetic sledge, he added:

“How many IPL teams really wanted you in their team when you begged every single one of them to have you?”

Paine also infamously told Ashwin:

“I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba Ash. I will tell you what, woo hoo.”

The Indian batter swiftly responded:

“Just like we want to get you to India, that will be your last series.”

Having gotten too involved in conversations with Ashwin, Paine ended up dropping Vihari’s catch. India went on to save the Test. The Aussie captain apologized to Ashwin and claimed he was "bitterly disappointed" in his own conduct.

There was more pain for Paine as India created history by winning The Gabba Test and social media took no time in reminding him about the “See you at The Gabba” jibe.

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#4 Paine’s lame excuse over Gabba defeat

Tim Paine reacts after a dropped catch. Pic: Getty Images

A few months after the Test series defeat to India at home, Paine claimed that India’s “sideshows” distracted them. The 36-year-old said that Indians put them off with stuff that didn’t really matter.

He was quoted as saying by news.com.au over India’s apparent unwillingness to travel to The Gabba:

"Part of the challenge of playing against India is they're very good at niggling you and trying to distract you with stuff that doesn't really matter and there were times in that series where we fell for that. The classic example was when they said they weren't going to the Gabba so we didn't know where we were going. They're very good at creating these sideshows and we took our eye off the ball."

After receiving plenty of backlash, Paine clarified that he “certainly wasn’t making any excuses” for the team’s defeat. He pointed out that he had admitted Australia were outplayed by India.

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#5 Paine-Kohli’s near chest bump

Virat Kohli and Tim Paine bump into each other. Pic: Getty Images

Virat Kohli and Paine were clearly not fond of each other during the 2018 series Down Under. The Australian captain was even heard telling Indian opener Murali Vijay about Kohli:

"I know he's your captain but you can't seriously like him as a bloke."

Paine and Kohli engaged in a number of verbal volleys during the Perth Test in 2018. But matters got out of hand when the two came close to chest-bumping each other. Their behavior led to a stern rebuke from umpire Chris Gaffaney, who reminded them:

“Come on, play the game. You guys are the captains. Tim, you’re the captain.”

Paine replied:

“We’re just having a conversation. There’s no swearing.”

Australia went on to win the Perth Test by 146 runs as Nathan Lyon claimed eight wickets.