Wasn't making excuses: Tim Paine clarifies his viral "sideshows" comment

Australia Test captain Tim Paine has attempted to clarify his recent comments in which he seemed to state that Indians were good at distracting their opponents. Paine’s statements came almost four months after a 1-2 Test series defeat against India. The Men in Blue defeated the hosts at the Gabba, handing them their first Test defeat at the venue in 32 years. The triumph was recorded in the absence of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari.

“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,” said Tim Paine as quoted by news.com.au.

“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,” he added.

The statements resulted in a strong reaction from fans and former cricketers, who termed it as an excuse after losing back-to-back home Test series against India.

“Certainly wasn’t making any excuses”

However, Paine has clarified his comment stating that he wasn’t making excuses.

“I was asked a number of things, and one of those was talking about the challenges of playing against India. One of them is the distraction they can create. There was a lot of talk that they weren’t going to Brisbane. They’re always changing gloves and bringing out physios and all that can get on your nerves. Just said that was one of the things that probably distracted me and took my eye off the ball at times,” said the Australia Test captain on the Gilly and Goss podcast as quoted by India Today.

“But also, I did say that they simply outplayed us and that they deserved to win but they left that one out. The Indian fans have been slamming me on social media. They say that I’m making excuses again but it’s all good fun,” he added.

“Absolutely, I think anytime an Australian captain speaks publicly is gonna to see the light of the day, there’s no doubt about that. Like I said, it was a wide-ranging interview for a long period of time. I certainly wasn’t making any excuses. I was asked about some of the challenges of the summer, and I said that was one of them for me. I love Indian fans. I don’t mind getting a bit of stick, particularly when you deserve. They ripped me off in the summer when I dropped those catches, that was totally fair. I love the passion..I love how much they love cricket. I like how much they interact. For some people it’s positive interaction, most of the times they are in to me, but I don’t mind that,” concluded Paine.