'I couldn’t care less' - Tim Paine opens up on criticism he bore on losing the Border Gavaskar Trophy

Australian skipper Tim Paine landed amid too much criticism and backlash after the side suffered a giant defeat against India on their home soil last month. After India bagged the high profile Border Gavaskar series, Paine’s captaincy came under all the questions. However, in the recent turn of events, he has stated that he ‘couldn’t care less’ about what everyone said about him. It is good with him till the time his teammates have positive feedback about his leadership.

It was totally expected of Australia to clinch the series, and India was already hit big time with injuries. Most of the senior players were on the bench, and the pressure was all on the shoulders of the young army, and even then, the Indian side came out with flying colours. Australia chief selector Trevor Hohns backed Paine by stating that criticism of Paine is ‘wide of the mark.’

“I was OK. I knew it (criticism) was going to come. It’s part and parcel of this job, and I have seen it through a number of captains before. I know most of it is a critique of me as a cricketer and a captain, and I am fine with that. As long as it’s not personal, then, to be honest, I couldn’t care less. All that worries me is what my teammates think, and the feedback from them is that I have been doing a good job,” said Paine while speaking to RSN.

You are always looking for ways to get better: Tim Paine

Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar believed that Paine’s days are numbered as a skipper of the Australian side. However, the 36-year-old has stated that he has learnt a lot of things from this defeat and will be trying his best to better up in the future. He added that he knows his mistakes and owns them in regard.

“You are always looking for ways to get better. I’m certainly not perfect; I make mistakes in terms of field placements when we use bowler, but every captain around the world has worn that at some point in time,” Paine concluded.