Ian Chappell, the former Australian cricketer, has picked Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, and Pat Cummins as the top five best Test bowlers in the modern era. Among them, he kept Pat Cummins, who’s the leading wicket-taker in the ICC World Test Championship, at the top. The Aussie speedster has 70 wickets from 14 games in the WTC.
Ian Chappell also stated that Ravichandran Ashwin is a better bowler than Nathan Lyon. The duo is among the top five wicket-takers in the WTC, but as per Ian Chappell, Nathan Lyon’s strike rate as a bowler is a tad too high compared to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ian Chappell Thinks Ravichandran Ashwin Is A Better Bowler Than Nathan Lyon
In his career, Nathan Lyon has picked up 399 wickets and is Australia’s second most successful spinner after the legendary Shane Warne. Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other hand, is set to play the WTC final and is four wickets away from being the leading wicket-taker in the championship. He has 409 career wickets and is India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker currently behind Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, and Harbhajan Singh.
“I think Ashwin is a better bowler than Nathan Lyon. Have a look at Nathan Lyon’s strike rate, you are in the 70s and I am going back to 2018,” Chappell was quoted as saying on the ESPNcricinfo program ‘Runorder’.
“Nathan Lyon, to me, I think runs get scored through the onside when he is bowling to the right-handers and that really just shouldn’t happen. Yes, he is a fine bowler but I think Ashwin is a better bowler,” he stated.
In the India vs Australia Test series 2020/21, Nathan Lyon picked only 9 wickets in 4 Tests at a poor average of 55.11 despite bowling 187 overs. Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other hand, picked 12 wickets in 3 Tests in that series and followed it up by taking 32 scalps in the following England 4 Test series where he was the leading wicket-taker.
Ian Chappell Also Praised Ishant Sharma’s Record
Ian Chappell also had words of praise for Ishant Sharma, who’s been donning the national jersey since 2007. In the WTC, Ishant Sharma has picked up 36 wickets from 11 matches.
“Ishant’s record in the last I think I went back to the start of 2018 and looking at some stats and his record is extremely good,” Chappell added.
As far as Mohammed Shami and Kagiso Rabada are concerned, they have also been pretty impressive over the last few years. In 10 Tests in the WTC, Mohammed Shami has picked 36 wickets and has a chance to add to his tally in the final. Kagiso Rabada, in the same tournament, played eight Tests and picked 26 wickets. South Africa couldn’t make the final amidst also a whole lot of controversy in their cricket board.