Australian spinner Nathan Lyon expressed that his counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin has been one of his biggest coaches. He added that he has learnt plenty from watching the Indian spinner, and respects him a lot. The veterans are considered two of the best off-spinners of all time in world cricket.
Ravichandran Ashwin has picked up 717 International wickets, including 489 in Tests. On the other hand, Nathan Lyon has taken 526 wickets in International cricket for Australia. He is nearing the 500-wicket landmark in Test cricket, behind by just four wickets. Speaking to cricket.com.au on Wednesday, Nathan Lyon spoke about his counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin. He said,
“You look at Ashwin, he’s a world-class bowler and somebody I’ve watched closely from the start of his career. We’ve gone head-to-head many times in different conditions around the world.”
“I’ve got nothing but respect for Ashwin and the way he’s gone about it. There’s an opportunity to learn from the people you play against, and without knowing it, he’s probably been one of my biggest coaches in a way,” he added.
I want to play cricket for as long as I can: Nathan Lyon
Nathan Lyon made his debut for Australia in International cricket in 2011 in a test match against Sri Lanka at Galle. He has had a great decade-long career. The spinner expressed that he wants to keep playing the sport as long as he can. He will play his 123rd Test match in the upcoming game against Pakistan on Thursday, December 14 in Perth.
“I’m not putting a number on it. I want to play cricket for as long as I can. Haven’t won (a Test series) in India, and haven’t won in England – those are two places that I want to do, so with the injury happening a couple of months ago I feel like there’s a passion there to keep going and keep trying to get better,” said Nathan Lyon.
“I’m feeling really confident, really happy with where everything is at and it’s just about going out there and performing now,” he added.
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