Tim Paine denies Justin Langer's 'We took India lightly' claim, ignores Starc criticism

From taking over the Australian Test team at one of their weakest moments to leading them back to the top of the ICC's Test rankings, Tim Paine is no stranger to pressure and criticism. The Australian skipper has copped a lot of flak after the India vs Australia 4th Test 2021 - for the general failure of the team and for his lacklustre performance as well. However, the 35-year-old remains defiant in the face of this judgement, from social media as well as local and international press. One day after Australia's defeat at The Gabba, Tim Paine talked about where he thought the Aussies lost the series. 

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Paine remains defiant after calls for removal post India vs Australia 4th Test 2021 defeat 

Gracious in his team's loss, Australian skipper Tim Paine conceded that their historic loss at The Gabba was a result - in part - of Australia's inability to seize their chances and in part, of India having simply outplayed the hosts in the last three Tests. Talking to cricket.com.au, Paine said, "It happened throughout, even if you went right back to Adelaide, whether it was with bat, ball or in the field, every time we had a chance to go ahead of the game we let it slip". Pointing out that while the Australians failed to capitalize on their chances, "I thought every time India needed to do that, or needed a wicket, someone managed to do it for them".

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Talking about the last two Tests, in Sydney and Brisbane, Paine admitted that he had told Australian coach, Justin Langer, as well, that India simply "won the key moments". "I felt like we turned up to Sydney and the Gabba on day five in as good a position as you'd want to be in, and we couldn't get the job done" he admitted. He also denied Justin Langer's inference that they had taken India lightly, saying "I don't think we took them lightly or thought we were going to roll them over".

Paine also admitted that India's superior performance could be attributed to their solid response to Australia's premier spinner, Nathan Lyon, while adding that "there might be a few little things going on" with pacer Mitchell Starc who only managed 11 wickets from the four Tests. 

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Paine not looking at retirement just yet

As most big losses tend to do in cricket-crazy countries, Australia's loss has sparked off debates about Paine's place as the head of the team. However, Paine remains unfazed. The 36-year-old said that he is not thinking about retirement "at the moment" and is in fact "still looking forward to going to South Africa" where the Aussies will go for the first time since the infamous 'Sandpapergate' incident. Paine also admitted that he knew the perils of the job when he took it up in 2018 and accepts it as a part of the job. 

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Image Credits: Cricket.com.au Twitter