The Australian skipper, Tim Paine on Tuesday defended star batsman Steve Smith, who was accused of scuffing up the guard mark of Rishabh Pant during the drawn third Test in Sydney. Paine reckons that if the accusation had any merit the Indian team would have raked up the issue if any wrong was committed.

Smith, a former Australia captain, was seen scuffing up the batsman’s guard during drinks break in the first session on Monday. However, Pant made a whirlwind knock of 97 to give India a shot at winning the match in pursuit of 407 but it ended in a draw.

ALSO READ: Rajasthan Royals Not To Retain Steve Smith For IPL 2021?

Eplxaining the incident, Time Paine said, “I have spoken to Steve about this and I know he is really disappointed with the way it has come across. And if you watch Steve Smith play Test cricket, that is something that he does every single game five or six times a day. As we know he has got those sort of many Steve Smith quirks. He (Smith) was certainly not changing guard and imagine if he was, then the Indian players would have kicked up a bit of stink (at) that time.”

Paine said given how this has been perceived, especially by cricket fans online, there would be a reconsideration. After the video emerged, Smith faced criticism on social media by fans and former India opener Virender Sehwag.

Reiterating his point of view, Tim Paine said, “One of his mannerisms, as I said he does a lot, he was marking sand and he wasn’t by any stretch of imagination trying to change guard or do anything like that.”

ALSO READ: David Warner Apologizes To Team India On Behalf Of The Sydney Crowd

In 2018, Smith was the prime culprit in the ball-tampering scandal that took place during the third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Subsequently, Smith, along with then-deputy skipper David Warner, was banned for a year from international and domestic cricket. He was replaced by Paine as the Australian skipper.