Sports is an incredible practice that teaches to respect contemporaries despite having intense rivalry on the field. Nathan Lyon, the modern-day spin legend from Australia, does the same—keeping all rivalries aside, he praised India's Ravichandran Ashwin and acknowledged his unsaid contribution to Lyon's bowling. Lyon has 530 international wickets from 242 innings he played and 129 matches, averaging 30.28 with an economy of 2.93. Surprisingly, Ashwin, who has just 6 wickets (536) more than him, has a slightly better average (23.95) and almost a similar economy (2.83). Ashwin probably would have outperformed Lyon in the number of matches and innings he played (199 innings in 105 matches). Not only that, both have even debuted in the same year (2011) in international cricket. Ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, Lyon expressed his admiration for Ashwin—how this “smart bowler” helped him grow better with his skills. Reflecting on their rivalry in an interview with Fox Cricket, Lyon said, “Ash is an incredible bowler. I’ve gone head-to-head with him for basically my whole career, so I’ve learned a lot from Ash. He’s incredibly smart, learns and adapts quickly, and the best bowlers in the world do that.” Lyon, who struggled during the 2020/21 series against India, had his rival Ashwin dominating the series. Lyon claimed just 9 wickets at an average of 55.11. On the other hand, Ashwin played a pivotal role with both bat and ball, for India winning the series. The Aussie spinner acknowledged Ashwin’s influence on his preparations for subcontinental tours. “I’ve watched a lot of his footage heading over to India, and the way he goes about it in Australia. He’s taught me a lot. I believe the players you compete against are your best coaches.” Read: Justin Langer Backs Kohli for BGT 2024-25 We’re on a journey to becoming a great team: Lyon hopeful for WTC While Ashwin thrives on variations like the carrom ball, Lyon relies on overspin and bounce, especially on Australian pitches. However, he admitted the challenge of consistency: “Spinning up the back of the ball and getting bounce is hard in Australia. Your margin for error is extremely small.” Despite Australia’s recent World Test Championship win over India, Lyon acknowledged India’s edge in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the Aussies failing to win a series in India for nearly a decade. He added, “India’s had the wood over us, but the WTC final win gives us confidence. We’re on a journey to becoming a great team." The first test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy will be played in Perth on November 22. Despite Ashwin being a key spinner in the team, India probably won't risk playing him on the bouncy tracks at the Optus Stadium. Not only that, Ashwin didn't have a great run in the recently concluded three-match Test series against New Zealand. Added, Indians are trying Yashasvi Jaiswal's leg-spin abilities in the nets. This has added more faith that India may walk in without their conventional spin duos and will give the ball to Jaiswal if in need of some spin bowling. In case Ashwin plays in the first test, that will be his first run in Perth.