‘He invited us, played the perfect hosts’ – Ravi Ashwin sarcastically thanks Tim Paine after India’s Gabba heist

Ravi Ashwin, the Indian off-spinner, has taken a sarcastic jibe at Australian skipper Tim Paine and thanked him for the visiting team’s victory at The Gabba. During the Sydney Test, Paine, in a bid to disturb the 34-year-old Ashwin’s concentration, invited the tweaker in Brisbane, a venue where India hadn’t won a single Test, losing five out of six and drawing one.

Ashwin didn’t hold himself back and reverted with a stern reply after which Paine used an abusive tone. After India lifted the Border Gavaskar Trophy, winning the series 2-1, Ashwin, in a funny tone, stated that Paine was the ‘perfect hosts’ after he botched some stumping chances and also didn’t make optimum use of the Decision Review System (DRS).

“Tim Paine missed the stumping but I started liking him. He invited us, played the perfect hosts by missing the stumping chance, and awarded us the series as well. Can’t say he helped us win 2-1 but yeah, on a sarcastic note, he did,” Ashwin was quoted as saying on Fox Sports.

They kept repeating Gabbatoir, right? Ravi Ashwin

Prior to the fourth and final Test, there were talks of Team India not playing the Brisbane Test. However, Ajinkya Rahane and Co became the first touring side in 32 years to beat the Aussies at the venue despite a number of their players being ruled out due to injuries.

“This is the Gabbatoir breached. They kept repeating Gabbatoir, right? From the minute we landed in Australia, they kept saying Gabbatoir. Welcome to the Gabba. I thought Gabba must really be their fortress or something given the way they were hyping,” he stated.

“[The] crowd will have a beer and randomly yell at the players. Indian Team shouldn’t leave the bubble, but 15,000 people will be allowed inside the stadium to watch the match as if we are circus jokers. More like, we are like the caged animals inside a zoo. The crowd will have a go at us,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin didn’t play the Brisbane Test due to a back problem that he was going through from the Sydney Test itself. But he ended as India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 12 scalps.