Tim Paine urged the Australian public to welcome Steve Smith and David Warner with open arms and treat them like other national cricketers when they return to Australian Cricket Team after completing their ball-tempering scandal at the end of March 2019.

Australian cricket has been struggling without their talismanic batsmen –Smith, and Warner, and they will be rushed back into the side once their ball-tampering ban expires in March, while Cameron Bancroft has completed his ban and returned to the competitive game with Big Bash League 2018-19.

It remains to be seen how the Australian public reacts at Smith and Warner’s return to the national fold as the fans are angry especially with the duo for tarnishing the country's image with their shameful antics in Cape Town, but Test skipper Paine urged them to give them a fair chance.

Paine told media, “I think the trio should be welcomed back with open arms. I hope they're welcomed back. I mean everyone is entitled to their own opinion and will have a different view on it.”

The Aussie skipper continued, “But I think that once they've done their time I'm very hopeful that the Australian public will welcome those three guys back and give them a fair chance. I mean, just to be treated like all other cricketers are.”

Meanwhile, Paine admitted that Australia badly missed their batting powerhouses after their defeat in the third Test at the hands of India in Melbourne last week.

Paine signed off by saying, “I think it's pretty clear that if you take two or three of the best players out of anyone's line-up around the world, you're going to struggle a little bit at times and you are going to have inconsistent performances. The silver lining is that we do have world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side, and clearly when they do they will make a huge difference.”

(With AFP Inputs)