SYDNEY: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Monday Australian captain Tim Paine slammed for the sledging of Ravichandran Ashwin during the third Test taken here, saying his behavior was “intolerable”O leader and it could cost him his captaincy.
Australia’s famous bowling attack threw everything at India on the fifth day but could not break their resolve as the visitors hung on for a memorable draw in the SCG.
“I don’t know that I’m not an Australian selector, but his days as captain are numbered. If you allow the Indian team to bat 130-odd beats without getting wickets, this is a very good attack in Australia
. The bowling is changing, the pitch locations, everything could have made a difference to the result, ”Gavaskar told India Today.
Paine’s diminished catches played a key role in the partnership of Hanuma Vihari (23 not out of 161) and Ravichandran Ashwin (39 not out of 128), who battled more than 42 overs for a 62 run stand to save the Test.
In frustration, the 36-year-old player tried to exchange some words with Ashwin to disrupt his focus during the last session and ended up dropping Vihari afterwards.
“Tim Paine was more interested in talking to the batsman rather than his pitch changes and field bowling. So I won’t be surprised if there is a change in Australian captaincy after the series ends, ”said Gavaskar.
Paine dropped three catches during the contest.
“If you drop simple catches, Rishabh Pant got two margins, they were not difficult catches, the last one that missed off Vihari also could have been left to the first slip,” said the former India captain .
“He was a little disturbed, not concentrated there after that little episode with R Ashwin.”
In the 122nd over, Paine could be heard on a mic stall, trying to sledge Ashwin. He used an aggressive word even during the chatter.
“First of all, it was unbearable for a national team captain to be talking about anything other than cricket,” said Gavaskar.
“By all means, you want to try the opposition, you talk about their cricket, you can tell the batsmen that he doesn’t know how to play, you can say he’s no good.
“All of those things are perfectly acceptable because you talk cricket. But when you talk about something else, it shows your frustration. It shows that you can’t bear the fact that the opposition is fighting. ”(The Times of India)