The veteran off-spinner of the Australian Test side, Nathan Lyon, is charged up as he looks forward to the upcoming home summer, where they will host the Indian team during the five-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, which they are yet to win in the last decade.
Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the Blue Brigade managed to script their maiden red-ball series victory in Australia, where Nathan Lyon was part of the challenge, before repeating the same in the very next trip in 2020-21 in the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, as the off-spinner was nailed down in all parts of the ground by the young Indian batters.
Now, it’s a huge challenge for the home side to turn it up and show some fight to the visiting team, as all five games, which are part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle, will be vital on the prospect of the team qualifying for the final of the event.
Nathan Lyon displays admiration for Indian veteran Ravichandran Ashwin
It was the 2014-15 summer when the Indian team lost their last bilateral Test series against Australia, which played under the captaincy of Michael Clarke. Since then, the only time the Aussies had a huge mark over the Blue Brigade in respect of the red-ball victory was the recent win in the final of the WTC 2021-23 at the Kennington Oval in London.
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Nathan Lyon has touched on how he dreamt of competing against the best side in the world, and he is eager to make the upcoming summer a massive one against the Rohit Sharma-led side.
In the current standing of the WTC 2023-25 cycle, the Indian team is at the top position with six wins in nine games at 68.52%, besides one drawn result, while on the other hand, the Pat Cummins-led men are at the second position thanks to their eight victories in 12 encounters at 62.50%.
“I have always said throughout my whole career (that) I want to compete against the best, and you look through the whole Indian line-up and the whole squad, (there are) absolutely superstars everywhere you look. You want to compete and challenge yourself against them.” The veteran off-spinner, Nathan Lyon, expressed in a recent interaction with the ‘Star Sports’.
The New South Wales bowler has picked up 259 wickets at home in 67 games at an average of 30.88 and a strike rate of nearly ten overs. When it comes to his performance against the Indian team, he has grabbed 121 wickets in just 27 games at an average of 31.56.
In a comparison, Nathan Lyon will be against Ravichandran Ashwin, who has managed to collect 114 wickets in 22 Tests against Australia at an average of under 29, besides enjoying 39 wickets in ten red-ball games in Australia at an average of 42.15.
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“Ash (Ravichandran Ashwin) and I obviously debuted around similar times, and we’ve competed against each other in a number of series now. Between me and Ash, I have got nothing but respect for Ash. I love watching him bowl, and he is an absolute master in craft and off-spin bowling. It’s an absolute privilege to play against him and learn from him.” Nathan Lyon shed light on their mutual respect.
“Pretty exciting, obviously, a massive summer for us out there. So, (I just) can’t want to have the Indian guys out here.” The 36-year-old concluded.
The opening game of the five-match Test series will start on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.