Nathan Lyon's comment on R Ashwin leaves Harsha Bhogle wondering: 'World rates him much higher than India'

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Nathan Lyon has called Ravichandran Ashwin "one of his biggest coaches" ahead of Australia's first Test against Pakistan in Perth from December 14. Lyon, who will be making his comeback from the first time after suffering a calf injury during Ashes 2023, heaped rich praises on Ashwin.

The cricket world gets divided into two camps when asked to make a choice between Ashwin and Lyon as the greatest off-spinner of the generation. However, Lyon has nothing but respect for Ashwin.

"You look at Ashwin, he's a world-class bowler and somebody I've watched closely from the start of his career," Lyon told Cricket.com.au ahead of the first Test.

"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," Lyon added.

Nathan Lyon's comment on Ashwin triggers Harsha Bhogle's emotions

Celebrated commentator Harsha Bhogle took note of the comments from Lyon and said that Ashwin is rated highly by his rivals but does not get the same respect and acknowledgement from India. Notably, Ashwin and Lyon could have been in action together in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final, but India opted to bench Ashwin, the number one ranked Test bowler in the world.

"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," Bhogle wrote on X.

Lyon and Ashwin are the 8th and 9th highest wicket-takers in Test cricket respectively. Lyon has picked 496 wickets in 122 Test matches at an average of 31.00. Ashwin, on the other hand, has picked 489 wickets at an average of 23.65 in 94 Test matches.