How India rival Ravichandran Ashwin influenced Nathan Lyon's career as his unexpected 'coach'
Nathan Lyon called Ravichandran Ashwin 'one of his biggest coaches'.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon are the modern-day versions of Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan. Two premier spinners at the top of their game. Even though they Test specialists, what Ashwin and Lyon have achieved for their respective careers with India and Australia, is nothing short of legendary. Veterans of over 100 Tests, Ashwin and Lyon are on the cusp of a monumental record – 500 wickets in the format, and if their track record is anything to go by, they will breach this landmark in their respective upcoming series against England and Pakistan.
Lyon, with 496 wickets, has a chance to get there sooner, possibly as early as over the next five days as Australia's first Test against Pakistan starts Thursday. But ahead of what could prove to be a landmark game for Lyon, the Australia spinner opened up on the impact Ashwin has had on his career. Lyon and Ashwin began their international careers in 2010, and over the course of 13 years, their legacies have evolved in tandem. Lyon holds profound respect for Ashwin, offering the India spinner one of the most significant compliments of his career.
"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. I've definitely learned from him," Lyon told Cricket.com.au.
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"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. It's pretty amazing to see we're both creeping up to that 500 mark, and we'll see where we end up. Hopefully at the end of our career we'll sit down and have a nice feed and a beer and talk about it."
Lyon, who returns to action after a six-month injury lay-off, having recovered from a calf injury sustained in June during The Ashes, will have his hands full as Australia look for their sixth straight series whitewash against Pakistan. At 36, Lyon hopes to one day pip the legendary Warne's 708 wickets, but insists he doesn't want to specify a particular number for either his retirement or the eventual total wickets he will accumulate.
"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, haven't won in England – that's 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. I've had the mentality to try and rehab this like no-one's rehabbed a calf injury before," Lyon added.
"I'm really proud of the work I've done personally, but also with the likes of Cricket Australia and Cricket New South Wales. I feel like we've done everything possible along the way to make sure we're in a really good spot physically, but also mentally as well. I'm feeling really confident, really happy with where everything is at and it's just about going out there and performing now."
