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Tim Paine To Ravichandran Ashwin: 'At Least My Teammates Like Me, D***head'

Tim Paine To Ravichandran Ashwin: 'At Least My Teammates Like Me, D***head'

The Australian captain has since issued a public apology.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Tim Paine has come under fire from cricket fans for his trash-talking aimed towards Indian star Ravichandran Ashwin.

The Aussie captain didn't hold back with his sledging during Day Five of the Third Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground - and it ultimately landed him in hot water.

Tim Paine and Ravi Ashwin.
PA

With India mounting a comeback and spin bowler Ashwin at the crease, stump microphones captured the duo's tense exchange and it was pretty brutal.

"Jeez, I can't wait to get you to The Gabba, Ash. I tell you what," wicket keeper Paine said during one of Nathan Lyon's overs.

But Ashwin didn't hesitate in biting back.

"Just like we can't wait to get you to India," he replied

"It will be your last series."

Savage.

This remark clearly didn't sit well with Paine.

"Maybe, are you a selector here as well then?" Paine asked as the other Aussie fielders closed in tight.

"At least my teammates like me, d***head.

"I've got more Indian friends than you do. Even your teammates think you're a goose, don't they? Every one of them.

"Wait till you get to The Gabba, pal.

"How many IPL teams wanted you when you asked every single one of them to have ya?"

The heated war of words flooded social media with fans calling for Paine to say sorry.

And he did.

The Australian skipper issued a public apology in a press conference and said he was "bitterly disappointed" in his behaviour.

"I want to apologise for the way I went about things yesterday. I'm someone who prides themselves on the way I lead this team and yesterday was a poor reflection of the team," Paine said.

"I let the pressure of the game get to me. It affected my mood and my performance. Initially I reflected purely on my wicketkeeping. Last night I reflected on the whole game.

"I've had a really poor game as a leader. I'm a captain who enjoys the game, and wants to play... yesterday I fell short of my expectations and our team's standards. I'm human. I want to apologise for the mistakes I made yesterday.

"It's certainly not a reflection of the way I want to lead this team. We've set high standards over the last few months and... I'm bitterly disappointed.

"My mood throughout the whole Test match was a bit off. The way I spoke to the umpires was unacceptable.

"I've got to cop that on the chin. It's certainly not a reflection of how I want to do it going forward.

"I fell short of my own standards and expectations. I'm bitterly disappointed with that."

During the game itself, Paine dropped a sitter from Ashwin just minutes after their back and fourth.

But Paine revealed that the two star players cleared the air when play finally wrapped up.

"I spoke to him (Ashwin) really quickly after the game yesterday," Paine said.

"As I said to him, I ended up looking the fool, didn't I? You open your mouth and drop the catch, we had a bit of a laugh about that.

"I think the relations between the two teams have been great, there's a healthy respect, it's very competitive.

"When it's all said and done, the way the spirit of this series has been played, 99 per cent of the time it's been excellent.

"Everything was fine."

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Topics:ย Test Match, Cricket, Cricket News, Australia