Aussie skipper Tim Paine picks ‘The Best Player in the World’, and it is not Steve Smith

Australian Test captain Tim Paine, in a recent interview with the crew of Amazon Prime Video announced that he felt Virat Kohli was the best player in the world.

This statement came across as shocking for a few and pleasantly surprising for others, for Tim Paine shares a somewhat bitter history with his Indian counterpart. The declaration was unprecedented on Paine’s behalf, to say the least, especially after India’s tour down under last Aussie summer which saw both captains finding themselves to be a part of multiple altercations. Even Justin Langer was also seen calling India skipper Virat Kohli ‘The Best Player I’ve Seen’

“Kohli a global superstar” claims Tim Paine

“India is such a big country. Virat Kohli is so popular over there that he has become a sort of a global superstar. Wherever he goes, there are just people. They are just around him. Outstanding player. Probably the best player in the world at the moment. Well, I just remember watching him in the nets. They put that footage out pre-series and he was absolutely smacking them,” Tim Paine admitted.

The Paine-Kohli face off

As mentioned above, there was no love lost between the two captains when their respective teams clashed in a four-match test series in December 2018. It was, in fact, during the second Test at Perth’s newly erected Optus Stadium, when tensions peaked.

A few words were said by both parties, abuses being thrown around, but things truly went out of hand on the fourth day of the said Test, with both cricketers getting involved physically. The situation only dampened, and the umpires eventually had to step in, reprimanding the pair and reminding them of the negative effects their actions could have on the very image of Cricket. Even after this incident, one could feel a certain tightness in the air whenever Paine or Kohli got involved in the act.

‘The Test’ can now be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.