New Delhi, India

Tim Paine's sexting scandal became a dark chapter in the history of Australian cricket that has faced controversies like ball-tampering, racism, etc in the past. Paine resigned as the Test captain on November 19 over sending inappropriate text messages to a former female colleague in 2017. 

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He said that his actions do not meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain as he stepped down as the captain of the Test cricket team just ahead of Australia's crucial Ashes series against England. 

While announcing his decision, Paine, in a press conference, said that he was involved in a text exchange with a then-colleague nearly four years ago and he recently became aware that this private text exchange was going to become public. 

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The entire saga has brought shame to Australian cricket, however, the selectors trying to move forward as they seek options for a captain ahead of the Ashes series. 

Amid all the chaos, former cricketer and spin legend Shane Warne has weighed in as he defended Paine, urging people to 'stop the judgement'. 

In his column to Herald Sun, Warne wrote, "I'm not judging him on this incident. Just because Tim is in the public eye doesn't mean he won't make a mistake. Sportspersons are human, they have feelings. Let's stop the judgement. It's not our place to do that."

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"It was sad to see what happened last Friday on so many levels and the circumstances in which Tim was forced to stand down. I really feel for him, what he's going through, and what his family is going through," he added. 

"Let's just for a moment put it in perspective. It happened four years ago, and a full Cricket Australia investigation cleared him to take the captaincy. His family stood by him then, and now," Warner further opined.