Australia Test skipper Tim Paine has hit back at Kevin Pietersen for his now-deleted tweet where the England player stated that he would not have travelled to Australia for the Ashes later this year due to the stringent quarantine rules in place.

Paine has categorically stated that this year’s Ashes will be held as scheduled from December 8, despite suggestions that some England players might not travel because of stringent Covid-19 restrictions. In an interview with radio station SEN Hobart, he attacked Pietersen after the latter had tweeted he would not have flown for the series if he was a player.

In a tweet, later deleted, Pietersen had written, “There is NO WAY I would go to The Ashes this winter. ZERO chance! Unless the ridiculous quarantine rules were squashed and my family could travel with zero restrictions. Players are now done with bubbles! DONE!!!!!!!!”

Paine responded to the remarks by saying, “Well, if you want to know anything on any topic in the world, you just ask Kevin Pietersen. He is an expert on everything. We’ve not heard one England player come out and say that will not be coming… I think it’s been beat up and people like Kevin like to get themselves a little bit of exposure in the media.”

Pietersen responded to the dig by sending out another tweet. “To be fair to @tdpaine36, it is up to the players to make the decisions on The Ashes tour, not ex has-beens! Hopefully there’ll be a positive outcome over the weekend. The Ashes is the greatest rivalry & battle in Test match cricket – and we need Test Match cricket to survive!”

To be fair to @tdpaine36, it is up to the players to make the decisions on The Ashes tour, not ex has-beens!
Hopefully there’ll be a positive outcome over the weekend. The Ashes is the greatest rivalry & battle in Test match cricket – and we need Test Match cricket to survive!

— Kevin Pietersen(@KP24) October 1, 2021

Australia currently has strict Covid-19 protocols in place, which has forced the England team to rethink their participation in the Ashes, with Joe Root stating earlier this week, “It is so hard to make a decision until we know what it looks like.”