Nathan Lyon lauds Ravichandran Ashwin on the verge of 500 Test wickets: ‘He’s probably been one of my biggest coaches’ | Cricket News

Nathan Lyon stands at the verge of hory. Only three spinners – Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble – have picked 500 or more wickets in Test cricket. On the eve of Australia’s three-match Test series against Pakan, the off-spinners stands four wickets shy of crossing the milestone.
When asked on who his biggest inspiration on a fabled career for Australia in whites has been, the 36-year-old offered a name not many would’ve expected.
“You look at Ashwin, he’s a world-class bowler and somebody I’ve watched closely from the start of his career,” Lyon was quoted cricket.com.au. “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.”
Both Ashwin and Lyon began their Test career in the same year and only Stuart Broad has more wickets in the format since then, with Ashwin also verging on the 500 wickets milestone with 489 wickets under his belt from 94 matches.
“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 added.

The off spinner has been on the sidelines since the Ashes this summer, recovering from a calf injury and is expected to take the field come Thursday. Australia play Pakan in the first of three Tests in Perth.