Australia’s premier spinner Nathan Lyon has denied to compare himself to Ravichandran Ashwin. The duo featured in the opening Test match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 where Ashwin notched five wickets across two innings while Lyon picked only wickets but he didn’t get a chance to bowl in the second innings.
Nathan Lyon is close to reaching the 400 Test wickets. He has taken 391 wickets in 97 Tests. Probably, he will achieve the unique feat in this series because he is just nine wickets short to enter the elite list.
Ravichandran Ashwin is a very cagey bowler: Nathan Lyon
Nathan Lyon heaped praise on the veteran Indian spinner, stating that he has watched him a lot and has learned different tactics from him. He reckons that Ashwin’s variation can not be picked easily because he is a ‘cagey bowler’
“Ashwin is a world-class bowler, to be honest. I have watched him a lot especially when I had gone to tour India and the subcontinent to try and learn of him. But he is a very cagey bowler, he has got all the variations,” Nathan Lyon said at a virtual press conference ahead of the second Test beginning here on Saturday.
Further applauding Ashwin’s talent, Lyon played down any comparison with him. He said that Ashwin and him were similar in many ways but at the same time, they are also different.
“He’s very cagey with the way he changes his pace, so he is a very talented bowler. We are similar in a way but we are very different as well, so I can’t really compare myself to him. I think his records speak for his own, so hats off to Ashwin,” said Nathan Lyon.
In the MCG Test match, which will be the second Test match of the series, it will be interesting to see whether Lyon will get nine wickets or he had to wait a bit longer.