Nathan Lyon Showers Huge Praise On R Ashwin Ahead Of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Says, 'It's Been An Absolute Privilege To Play Against Him'

Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024: Australia's star spinner Nathan Lyon has lauded India's veteran off-spinner R Ashwin before the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which will be held later this year. During an interaction on Star Sports, Lyon reminisced about his long-time rivalry with Ashwin and how much he respected the Indian spinner.

Lyon, who began his career in the longest format around the same time as Ashwin, emphasized the fierce competition between them in the last few years. In February this year, Ashwin achieved the milestone of taking 500 wickets in this format in the five-match Test series against England, whereas Lyon himself has taken 530 Test wickets.

Before the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the fans of both teams would witness the intense rivalry between Lyon and Ashwin once again. Both the spinners are expected to play a huge role in this five-match Test series, given the thrilling head-to-head that these two players share.

"I know Ashwin and we debuted around similar times and we've competed against each other in several series now and between me and Ashwin I have got nothing but respect for him. I feel like I love watching him bowl, he's an absolute master in the craft of off-spin bowling and it's been an absolute privilege to play against him and learn off him," Lyon was quoted as saying on Star Sports.

Lyon also talked about Ashwin's experience and admitted that he is looking forward to playing against the Men in Blue since this team is full of big players. He also reckoned that playing against one of the best teams and Ashwin, has been one of the biggest highlights of his playing career.

“I've always said throughout my whole career I want to compete against the best and you look through the whole Indian line-up, the whole squad, there's absolute superstars everywhere you look and you want to compete and challenge yourself against them..." he revealed.

Australia's star batter Marnus Labuschagne also shared his thoughts and talked about India's fast bowling lineup. He emphasized that Indian pacers, who are known for their brilliant performance in Australia, would give a hard time to them.

"To these two teams, it doesn't matter where we're playing, if it's in England, Australia, or India, it's always a tough contest. India's fast bowling is very good, which is really what brings them into Australian conditions and makes them such a tough team to beat in Australian conditions. Hopefully this summer we can turn the tables on India and put them under real pressure," Labuschagne told Star Sports.

With both teams boasting of talented star players, the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy would be a closely fought Test series.