Kevin Pietersen hits out at Tim Paine, states he was never up to the task
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has hit out at Australian skipper Tim Paine after his side lost the Test series against India. Pietersen conceded that he would have never made Paine the captain of the side if the decision was in his hands.
India came back from a seemingly impossible position to win the series 2-1 and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Tim Paine is now being criticised for his team's defensive approach and field placement during the series. These are tactics which are generally not associated with Australian sides.
In a blog for Betway, Kevin Pietersen has stated that Tim Paine was 'never, ever up to it'.
“I believe that Cricket Australia will soon be looking for a new captain – Paine has never, ever been up to it," wrote Pieterson.
Tim Paine was made captain of the side after the Sandpaper Gate scandal, which saw then-captain Steve Smith suspended along with teammates David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Pietersen believes Cricket Australia's choice of the captain was a mistake.
“He (Tim Paine) got chucked into that position when Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft got caught up in the sandpaper controversy, but from my perspective, having played against him and watched him, he’s not an Australia captain," revealed Pietersen.
"He’s just not a good enough player, apart from anything else. I would never have made him captain in the first place, and he’s probably never going to lead them into another Test match," added Pietersen.
Tim Paine has the worst loss ratio for an Australia captain at home in the last 70 years
Tim Paine has the worst win ratio (47.82%) among Australian captains, who have led the side at least five times in the last 25 years. He also has the worst loss ratio (26.66%) at home among Australians, who have led the side at least ten times in Test matches in the last 70 years.
It remains to be seen if Cricket Australia will continue to have faith in their captain for the upcoming away series against South Africa.