Australia Skipper Tim Paine Hints At His Retirement Plans

Australia’s Test skipper Tim Paine scripted history when he became the first captain after Steve Waugh to retain the Ashes urn when the Aussies held England in a 2-2 draw in England. Jumping at a time when Australian Cricket was at a mess in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, Paine did an impeccable job to regroup the side and come back harder.

The selectors handed the leadership baton to Paine in one of the toughest time possible for Cricket Australia. With Steve Smith alongside David Warner and Cameron Bancroft banned for one year due to their role in the Newlands ball-tampering saga in 2018, Tim Paine gracefully accepted the job and changed the culture surrounding the Australian cricket.

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Tim Paine hints on his retirement plans

And now, with Smith once again back in the mix, speculations are on an all-time high on whether the talismanic run-scorer is taking back his job. However, the selectors have showed interest in retaining Tim Paine but the veteran wicket-keeper batsman in a surprise move has hinted about his retirement. Paine, who turns 35 next month, stated that the ongoing summer might be his last.

“It might be (my last summer), I’m not too sure,” Paine told reporters. “But… I’m enjoying doing it. I feel good physically (and) mentally. So while that continues, I’m scoring enough runs and keeping well enough then I’d like to continue,” he added.

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Speaking on the future roadmap of Australian Cricket, Tim Paine revealed that their main aim to reclaim the top spot in the ICC Test Rankings. He also admitted that they are setting their eyes on the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. Although they didn’t have a good start with a 2-2 draw in the five-match series, Australia will hope to mend things in the upcoming series against Pakistan.

“Our goal is to get back to that number one ranking and we want to win that Test Championship,” he added. “To do that we’re going to have to be good enough to win in India and we’re going to have to be good enough to beat everyone, everywhere,” he concluded.

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