Australia Skipper Tim Paine Apologises For Taunting Ravichandran Ashwin, Says 'I Looked Fool'

The Australian captain Tim Paine recently came under fire for a verbal duel with Ravichandran Ashwin on the final day of the Sydney Test

Photo Courtesy: @ICC / Twitter

The Australian captain Tim Paine on Tuesday called an impromptu virtual press-conference to apologise for his conduct at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) against veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The Aussie skipper on the final day of the Sydney Test, was picked up by the stump mic, launching verbal volleys against the Indian player. The captain then made an attempt to apologise for his conduct saying "I'm human, I want to apologise for things I made wrong. "I want to apologise the way I went about things on someone who prides himself on the way I lead this team and yesterday was a poor reflection of that," Paine said, as he came under fire for a verbal duel with Ravichandran Ashwin. According to the reports, Tim later spoke to Ashwin saying "I ended up looking the fool, didn't I? You open your mouth and then you drop a catch. We had a bit of a laugh about that." The 36-year-old wicket keeper confessed that the game pressure got to him and affected his mood. It is worth mentioning that Paine during the match dropped three catches, including of Vihari after the confrontation with Ashwin. The captain was also fined by the ICC due to mistake on the field. ICC imposed a penalty of 15 percent of Tim Paine's match fee for showing dissent over an on-field umpire's call. On the third day of the Test match against India, Australian captain Paine expressed his displeasure and reportedly uttered abusive words over an umpire's DRS decision, which was given in favor of Cheteshwar Pujara. Reacting to Paine's behavior, umpire Paul Rifle, Paul Wilson, third umpire Bruce Oxenford and fourth umpire Claire Polosak, in their complaint accused Paine of breaching under Article 2.8 of the ICC's Code of Conduct, which relates to 'disagreeing with the umpire's decision during the match'. The ICC, in a press statement issued on Sunday, said that the Australian captain admitted his mistake and these allegations, hence there was no need for a formal hearing.