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Australia batsman Peter Handscomb on Thursday rallied behind Tim Paine, saying that the criticism of Australia Test skipper is an "absolute joke".
Paine has been subjected to severe criticism from fans and former players as Australia lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to India on Tuesday. "I can't believe the fallout from this Test is his captaincy, that's just an absolute joke. The poor guy's batting beautifully, making some good runs, taking the game on and leading with that intent, which is really good to see," foxsports.com.au quoted Handscomb as saying. "For it to come down to some perceived captaincy ideas is ridiculous. The whole team's there and everyone's trying to do their best ... it's a bit of a joke that the takeaway seems to be his captaincy," he added. In the third Test at Sydney, Paine was fined by the ICC for having an on-field argument with umpire Paul Wilson regarding a DRS decision. In the very same match, Paine ended up dropping three catches and he went on to engage in a verbal battle with Ravichandran Ashwin. On Tuesday, Australia's fortress -- The Gabba -- was finally breached. It took 32 years and two months, but the unthinkable was achieved as an injury-ravaged young Indian team beat Australia by three wickets against all odds to take the series 2-1. The last time a visiting team came out triumphant from the Brisbane Cricket Ground was back in November 1988 when the mighty West Indian outfit under the leadership of Viv Richards thrashed Allan Border's team by 9 wickets. (ANI)
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