“I've always admired his passion and aggression” - Tim Paine plays down banter with Virat Kohli
After the banter in Perth, Tim Paine has revealed that he has always enjoyed watching Virat Kohli play and have admired the passion and aggression he shows on the field. The Australian skipper has also stated his Indian counterpart hates to lose, a quality that he highly appreciates in any athlete.
Virat Kohli has sworn by his aggression to reach the top of his career and has always been at the front in the brash and bold era of Indian cricket. His counterpart Tim Paine, however, has been a genial and soft-spoken cricketer, leading a team that is on a mission to be nice and polite. So, when the two went chest-to-chest in Perth, the former was at the receiving end of many criticisms with even Bollywood veteran star Naseeruddin Shah labelling Kohli as “ the world's best batsman but also the world's worst behaved player".
While the spotlight has been on Kohli for many reasons, Paine has come to Kohli’s rescue stating that the banter in Perth doesn’t demean the fact that he has always liked Kohli as a fire-brand cricketer and watching him play was one of the best experiences for him during his exile from international cricket.
"A lot was made of my battle with Virat in the second Test, and for the past few years when I haven't been playing international cricket, he was one guy I loved watching," he said in a column for Melbourne's Herald Sun.
"Now to be out in the middle going head-to-head with him in a Test series is something I'm really relishing. Virat is someone who is prepared to wear his heart on his sleeve and like all professional athletes, hates to lose," he said.
Post Newlands scandal Australia, contemplating their behavioural line, have largely remained silent in the first two Tests. So, it was a unique scenario considering the fact that Virat Kohli has indicted them to react on most occasions. It was also reported that he'd told Paine, "I'm the best player in the world and you're just the stand-in captain."
While that was rubbished by BCCI, his propensity to instigate the oneupmanship is still a matter of deep discussion. But Paine didn’t buy to that and in no uncertain terms, revealed that he likes the way Kohli plays his game. "I like the way Virat plays. I don't know him personally but I've always admired -- not only his obvious skill as a player -- but the passion and aggression he plays with. People like to see that and he gets fans through the gates."
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