'Ashwin has over 530 wickets; Jadeja more than 300': Lyon pokes Gambhir, Rohit to change India's winning combination

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon admits he is 'more than surprised' to see Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja get benched from the Perth Test and even more perplexed that the two Indian spinners are likely to suffer the same fate in the 2nd Test in Adelaide starting Friday. Lyon, arguably the best Test spinner in the world, along with Ashwin, admired the quality of players in India's ranks; still, whenever a player of either Ashwin or Jadeja's quality is benched for someone else, it speaks volumes of the depth the squad possesses. Australia's Nathan Lyon is surprised with India's tactics(AFP)

Ashwin, with 536 wickets, is the leading wicket-taker in the world among active cricketers, followed by Lyon with 532. But while Lyon continues to be part of Australia's Playing XI regularly – be it at home or overseas – Ashwin is hard done when playing in SENA nations. He and Jadeja – a veteran of 303 wickets himself – were dropped for Washington Sundar in the Perth Test, and if India's practice sessions were any indication, their team combination would remain unchanged for the day-night Test as well. Lyon finds it amusing to see that neither spinner may play the pink-ball Test or the matches after that in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, but he understands India's logic behind the move.

"More than surprised," Lyon said on Ashwin and Jadeja's omission from India's XI while speaking to the media on Wednesday. "But that's the quality of the Indian cricketers they've got in their squad. Ashwin has over 530 wickets and Ravi [Jadeja] with more than 300 wickets. So it's pretty remarkable to see the quality of players that are sitting on the bench, but I can't control who they run out."

The narrative heading into the Test series was all about Virat Kohli – the man single-handedly dominated Australian newspapers – but while most of the noise was about him, Jasprit Bumrah seems to have put some spotlight on himself with his breathtaking spells in Perth. But Lyon isn't just focussed on Kohli and Bumrah, insisting that the others too pose a legit threat to Australia in the remaining four Tests.

Nathan Lyon ready for anyone at anytime

"India have several superstars. Obviously, Virat and Bumrah are top performers, but there are other players as well. India are a strong team and hard to compete against. We are not focusing on just one player. It doesn’t mean we will not compete against them. We respect them but will make sure to play our brand of cricket and play competitive cricket against this Indian team," Lyon added.

One of the most exciting individual battles that promises to be lip-smacking is Lyon vs Rishabh Pant. It didn't take centre stage in Perth, with Pant getting dismissed before Lyon could roll his arms over in long spells. However, Lyon did feel a bit like the 2021 series when Nitish Reddy went after him. Only one man won that battle, with Reddy taking away the honours, but Lyon is willing to take the risk to tempt the India all-rounder if he senses a wicket around the corner.

"You are playing against the best players in the world, so no, I was not surprised. But yet again, I do not mind getting hit for boundaries. It provides opportunities for me to hopefully take a few chances along the way. So, there we go," he added.

Click here to read article