Michael Vaughan critical of Tim Paine's leadership skills

Former England captain Michael Vaughan was extremely critical of Tim Paine after Australia lost the four-match Test series against India.

The visitors, who were without several important players throughout the series, beat the Aussies at the Gabba on Tuesday to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Michael Vaughan was particularly scathing in his assessment of Aussie captain Tim Paine. It was Australia’s second straight loss to India at home following the 2018-19 defeat.

Under Paine, Australia drew the 2019 Ashes 2-2, failing to win at Headingley despite having the upper hand. They were then hammered by 135 runs in the final Test at the Oval

According to Michael Vaughan, Tim Paine tends to make "some s range calls" in tight matches. In a column for the UK Telegraph, he wrote:

“It will not help Paine’s cause that Australia have once again lost a close game – something they have made a habit of in recent years. I always feel that captains should be judged on how they marshal a tight match, rather than how they lead in an easy victory, and Paine is making some strange calls.”

I think I would have really considered keeping @ajinkyarahane88 as Captain for @BCCI !!! Allowing @imVkohli to be the Batsman only would make India even more dangerous & Rahane has an incredible presence & tactical nous about him ... #INDvsAUS

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 19, 2021

Vaughan also feels the Australians have chinks in their armour in all departments.

“The batting – aside from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne – has a soft centre, the pace bowling attack, rightly hailed as being the world’s best a few weeks ago, lacked penetration at crucial moments in the last three Tests against India, and Nathan Lyon had no impact at all,” Vaughan added.

Australia can cope without Tim Paine's leadership: Michael Vaughan

Tim Paine

Michael Vaughan went on to suggest that Alex Carey should be Australia's wicket-keeper instead of Tim Paine for the Ashes. Explaining his rationale, the former England skipper said:

“If they do, then Paine should be left out because Australia can cope without his leadership. Captains are sometimes placed on a pedestal and deemed untouchable, but I have never bought into that. You saw that in this series with Virat Kohli going home and Ajinkya Rahane taking over – India did not miss a beat.”

On a related note, Michael Vaughan conceded that India’s historic triumph Down Under has left him with eggs on his face. Vaughan had predicted the visitors to lose the series 4-0 after they went down in the first Test.

"I predicted Australia would win the series 4-0 after Adelaide, and with good reason. India looked shot after that match and with all the selection issues they had, even India's most one-eyed fans would not have predicted a comeback. Well, they have left me with eggs on my face. But honestly? I don't care. When you have cricket that good, and remarkable performances from rookie players such as Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, I have no problem in being proved wrong,” Michael Vaughan added.

An open letter to our friends in Indian Cricket, and to everyone who played their part to help deliver this memorable series! 🤜🤛 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/rk4cluCjEz

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) January 20, 2021

India’s clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 with a historic win at the Gabba, chasing down 328.