Australian legendary spinner Nathan Lyon, recently, expressed his admiration for Indian spinner and master competitor, Ravichandran Ashwin.
Both spinners are currently gearing themselves up for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is to be played in Australia, this year. When asked about his foremost competition, Lyon said “master of the craft” while addressing Ashwin’s versatility and uniqueness with the red-ball.
Nathan Lyon is 7th in the all-time list and Australia’s third-highest wicket-taker, with 530 wickets, as Ashwin falls behind with 516 wickets for India. Both of these spinners are among the world’s nine best bowlers to go past 500+ wickets in the longest format of the game.
The two spinners have now turned into players of only the longest format of the game for their teams. They will be meeting each other in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“I know Ashwin, and we debuted around similar times, and we have competed against each other in a number of series now, and between me and Ashwin, I have got nothing but respect for him. I feel like I love watching him bowl; he is an absolute master in the craft of off-spin bowling, and it has been an absolute privilege to play against him and learn from him. Pretty exciting; it is obviously a massive summer for us out here, so we cannot wait to have the Indian guys out here,” said Lyon to the ANI News.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 begins on 22nd November 2024
The highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-24 will begin on the 22nd of November, with the first Test to be played at Perth. For the second Test, action will move to the Adelaide Oval for a pink-ball Test, with the third Test being placed at The Gabba in Brisbane from the 14th-18th December.
The iconic Boxing Day Test will be held at MCG from the 26th of December. The last of the lot will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground from 3rd to 7th January. Currently, the two teams are placed at the top two spots on the WTC points table.
The Aussies are the defending champions of the World Test Championship title, as they won in 2023 against India, the two-time finalists. Lyon has always had a great record against the men from the subcontinent, as he has picked 121 wickets averaging 31.56 and has 9 five-wicket hauls. He has also expressed his desire to feature against the best side packed with superstars.
