In the process of indulging in some fun banter during their third Test against India, Australian captain Tim Paine may have just landed himself an IPL contract with Mumbai Indians.
On Day 2 of the Melbourne Test, keeper skipper Tim Paine had moved up to the stumps behind Indian batsman Rohit Sharma and shared some fun IPL banter along with Aaron Finch.
‘It would be a toss up for me between the Royals (Rajasthan) and Indians (Mumbai) on who I support. If Rohit hits a six here, I’m changing to Mumbai,’ the stump mic caught Paine saying.
Just letting out a smile, Rohit didn’t react at the time, but later said that he would consider bringing Paine into the Mumbai franchise if he scored a century at Melbourne.
“I was hearing that but when I’m batting I just focus on the job at hand. But I had a chat with Ajinkya Rahane and I joked that if he (Paine) gets a hundred here, I will put in a word about him to my boss at Mumbai Indians and we’ll buy him. Looks like he’s a fan of Mumbai.”Rohit Sharma
In his first Test innings since January, Rohit scored an unbeaten 63 as India declared at 443/7 on Day 2 of the Melbourne Test. The Indian batsman, who struggled a bit with his back, said he had a chat with captain Kohli who has faced similar issues in the past.
"No right now I'm fine. This is the first time I've had this issue. I had a chat with Virat because he's had it before. He says it's a recurring issue. I didn't feel anything yesterday but I have to be really careful from now on," Rohit said.
After bowling Australia out for 151, India ended Day 3 at 54/5, with a 346-run lead over the visitors. Mayank Agarwal and Rishabh Pant will resume play on Saturday.
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