Tim Paine says he loves Indian fans after receiving backlash over ‘Sideshow’ comment

After accusing India of distracting the Aussies with their tactics of creating ‘sideshows’ that resulted in them losing the series eventually, Tim Paine has softened his stance issuing a clarification.

The whole debate started when Paine was asked to share his thoughts on the Test series loss against India.

The 36-year-old said that the Indian team played the mind games, forcing them to “take the eye of the ball.”

"Part of the challenge of playing against India is they're very good at niggling you and trying to distract you with stuff that doesn't really matter and there were times in that series where we fell for that.

"The classic example was when they said they weren't going to the Gabba so we didn't know where we were going. They're very good at creating these sideshows and we took our eye off the ball, Paine had told news.com.au.

After Paine’s comments there was a huge uproar from the Indian fans on social media.

Now speaking to former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist on the 'Gilly and Goss podcast', Paine clarified that he sticks to what he said but added that the Indian team played better cricket than the Aussies and deserved to win.

"I was asked a number of things, and one of those was talking about the challenges of playing against India. One of them was the distraction they can create. There was a lot of talks that they weren't going to Brisbane. They're always changing gloves and bringing out physios and all that can get on your nerves. Just that was one of the things that probably distracted me and took my eye off the ball at times," Paine told Gilchrist.

"But also, I did say that they simply outplayed us and that they deserved to win but they left that one out. The Indian fans have been slamming me on social media. They say that I'm making excuses again but it's all good fun,” he continued.

However, despite his comments which don’t seem to have gone down too well with the Indian fans, Paine maintains that he loves the Indian fans.

"I love the Indian fans. I don't mind getting a bit of stick, particularly when you deserve it. They ripped me off when I dropped those catches, I thought that was totally fair. Look, I love the passion, I love how much they love cricket. I love how much they interact and for some people, it is a positive interaction, but most of the time they are into me. But I don’t mind that," he concluded.