IND v AUS 2020: 'By the time the Test series is over, Tim Paine would have been dropped' - Mohammad Kaif
Former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif has opined that Australian skipper Tim Paine might lose his place in the country's Test side by the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
He made this observation while previewing the upcoming India-Australia Test series on the Sony Sports network.
Mohammad Kaif was asked if he expects a recurrence of the heated exchanges between Virat Kohli and Tim Paine from the last Test series. The Delhi Capitals assistant coach responded that none of the Aussies who ply their trade in the IPL are likely to indulge in any verbal altercations.
"All the players who play in the IPL, whether it is Finch, Warner or Cummins, none of them are going to fight now."
However, he added that Tim Paine could be the one to get involved in some heated discussions as he does not feature in the prestigious league.
"Tim Paine does not play, he knows that he is not going to come to India, he does not have anything to do with the IPL, so he can confront the Indians."
'He is not able to score runs' - Mohammad Kaif on Tim Paine
Mohammad Kaif even suggested that Tim Paine is likely to face the axe by the end of the Test series as he has not been amongst the runs with the bat. He added that the Kangaroos only handed over the captaincy to the Tasmanian because they were in a desperate situation.
"I feel by the time the Test series is over, Tim Paine would have been dropped. He is not able to score runs with the bat. He just got the captaincy because Smith and Warner had the problem at the time. They were banned, so he was made the captain in compulsion."
Kaif signed off by stating that Tim Paine would be well served if he concentrates more on his batting now that Steve Smith and David Warner are back in the fold.
"Now that they have come back, if he doesn't score, then his playing in the XI will also be difficult. So it will be better if he concentrates on batting and keeping only this time."
There have been calls in certain quarters for the Australian Test captaincy to be handed back to Steve Smith. With age not on his side, Tim Paine will be keen on coming up with fighting performances with the bat in the Test series against India.
As suggested by Kaif, an indifferent performance from Tim Paine will not only put his captaincy but even his spot in the Australian Test team at stake. The Kangaroos already have Matthew Wade, who could take up the wicket-keeping duties in such a scenario, in their playing XI.