Australian captain Tim Paine wasn’t short on praises for Indian captain Virat Kohli and went on to call him the best batsman in the world. Kohli and Paine have shared a feisty rivalry on the pitch ever since the Tasmanian wicket-keeper took charge of the Australian team and led them against India in the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Their on-field spats and arguments became an interesting narrative point during the series when India created history by becoming the first Asian country to win a Test series Down Under.
Paine mentioned that he’ll always remember Kohli for his exploits and especially for sharing a feud with him during the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“For Virat Kohli, I’ve said many times, he seems the type of player you would love to have on your team. He is competitive, he is the best batsman in the world. He is challenging to play against and he can get under your skin because he is so good and he is so competitive. But yeah, for me from where I came from, sharing a feud with him four years ago, He is certainly someone I will always remember,” Paine said on the ‘Gilly and Goss’ podcast.
Tim Paine had gotten embroiled in controversy a few days ago when he insinuated that the Indian team is great ‘at creating sideshows’ that can distract opponents following their 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy loss. That was the second consecutive time that he failed to win a home Test series against India. The Gabbatoir breach also hurt the sentiment of the Australian fans and cricket community.
During the 2018-19 encounter, Kohli and Paine launched several verbal assaults at each other. One of those instances was even caught on the stump mic. Paine alleged that Kohli became extremely enthusiastic while celebrating Australian wickets and that he wouldn’t back down from doing the same against India.
“He had given send-offs to a few of our players. I sort of just had enough and thought you also have to stand up for yourself and your teammates and that was one of the reasons I thought, ‘no, I’m the captain, it’s my turn, I have to stand up and show him we’re here for the fight’,” Paine had said in Amazon’s docu-drama ‘The Test’
