After Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon’s words of praise for India’s Ravichandran Ashwin, commentator Harsha Bhogle seemingly took an indirect dig at the BCCI and the Indian team management.
Nathan Lyon, who got injured during the Ashes earlier this year, will make his return to Test cricket through the upcoming home Test series against Pakistan.
On the eve of the first Test in Perth, Lyon said that he’s been learning by observing India’s Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin and Lyon are the two best Test off-spinners currently in the world. And while the fans debate about who is greater, Lyon gushed in praise for Ashwin, saying that Ashwin has been “one of my biggest coaches in a way.”
Harsha Bhogle tweets on Lyon’s comment on Ravichandran Ashwin
This remark from Lyon about Ashwin went viral on social media and reached commentator Harsha Bhogle too, who then made a tweet regarding some of the disregard that the Indian off-spinner gets from his own team management and fans.
Ravichandran Ashwin was dropped from the WTC Final against Australia earlier this year at The Oval. He also didn’t play in a single Test in the 5-Test series in England.
Harsha Bhogle tweeted: “Nathan Lyon says that Ashwin has, in a way, probably been one of his biggest coaches and that he has nothing but respect for him. I often think that the rest of the world rates Ashwin much higher than India does.”
Nathan Lyon has 496 Test wickets at an average of 31 while Ravichandran Ashwin has 489 Test wickets at an average of 23.
On Ashwin, Lyon said: “You look at Ashwin, he’s a world-class bowler and somebody I’ve watched closely from the start of his career,” Lyon said ahead of his return to Test cricket after suffering a serious calf injury at Lord’s last June.
“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.
“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.”