Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
Sport
PTI

Australia first, IPL contracts secondary: Tim Paine

Tim Paine. Photo: File (Source: AFP)

The Australian cricket team didn’t want to unnecessarily provoke Virat Kohli but his predecessor Michael Clarke’s claims of players being scared to sledge the India captain in order to protect their IPL deals is far from truth, says current Test skipper Tim Paine.

Also read: IPL suspended till April 15

“I certainly didn’t notice too many people being that nice to Virat or not trying to get him out or anything like that,” Paine told ESPNcricinfo.

“I thought everyone who had the ball in their hand or when we were batting were trying their absolute best to win the game for Australia.

“I’m not sure who was going easy on him; we certainly had a thing where we didn’t want to provoke any fight with him because we think that’s when he plays at his best,” Paine said.

India is scheduled to tour Australia from October, 2020 to January, 2021 to play four Tests, three One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.