Veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon believes that rival players often serve as the "best coaches", acknowledging that his Indian counterpart Ravichandran Ashwin has "taught" him a great deal through their faceoffs since 2011-12. (More Cricket News)
Having made their Test debuts in the same year, Lyon and Ashwin will face each other for the eighth time in the longest format during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy five-Test series beginning in Perth on November 22.
"Ash (Ashwin) is an incredible bowler. I바카라ve gone head-to-head with him for basically my whole career, so I바카라ve learned a lot from Ash," Lyon told Fox Cricket.
"He바카라s an incredibly smart bowler, and he바카라s able to learn and adapt very quickly, and I think the best bowlers in the world are able to do that. He used his skills to benefit himself and his team.
"So, you바카라ve got to give credit where credit바카라s due, he was the best bowler (in 2020/21), as he usually is. So, hats off to Ash."
It will be Ashwin's fifth Test tour of Australia, where he has claimed 39 wickets in 10 Tests at an average of 42.15.
Lyon further admitted to having studied Ashwin's bowling closely, especially before Australia toured India in the last few years.
"He바카라s taught me a lot,바카라 Lyon said. 바카라I바카라m a big believer in the players that you play against are your best coaches that you eventually come across."
"I바카라ve watched a lot of his footage heading over to India, the way he goes about it here in Australia, see if I can pick up anything.
"The way I look at cricket is that I바카라ve never met anyone who has conquered the game, never played against or with anyone who바카라s conquered the game.
"There바카라s so much to learn in this great game, and there바카라s so much for me to learn from Ash. He바카라s a world-class bowler. He바카라s taken over 500 Test match wickets, and he should be extremely proud of that."
Ashwin outshines Lyon in terms of having the best bowling average outside Asia, with the former averaging 33.14 compared to the latter's 30.09.
However, the Australian averages better in Asia than the Indian -- Lyon: 30.81, Ashwin: 21.76.
Asked if they could face again post this tour, Lyon reckoned, 바카라Spin bowling is a craft that the older you get, the better you get with age.
"There바카라s definitely no limit for me, and I don바카라t think there should be a limit for us as well. He바카라s absolutely world-class, and there바카라s a series in a couple of years바카라 time. So, who knows?"
Asked the secret of his success on non-spinning tracks, Lyon quipped: "I know Jadeja reads all of this stuff, so I can바카라t really share all my secrets."
"My big thing is spinning up the back of the ball and getting bounce, but it바카라s a hard craft to be able to do that in Australia. Your size for error is extremely small,바카라 he said.
They may not have won a Test series against India in nearly a decade, but Lyon feels their World Test Championship final triumph last year would give them the edge.
"India바카라s got the wood over us in the past few series, but if you바카라re looking at the World Test Championship (final) in England, we were able to beat them there, and I know that should give us a bit of confidence heading into (this summer)," Lyon said.
"We understand that we바카라re coming up against a world-class side, but we can take a lot of confidence out of where we are at as an Australian cricket team."
"I feel like we바카라re on the journey to becoming a great team. We바카라re not there yet. There바카라s a bit of work to do, but we have the opportunity to do something pretty special this summer."
India are reeling from an unprecedented 0-3 home defeat against New Zealand, a result Lyon believes will make the second-ranked team even more determined.
"I think they바카라re extremely dangerous. They바카라re a class outfit, and they know their best preparation and how to come out here and perform. It바카라s going to be a cracking Test series.
"It바카라s been a long ten years since Australia바카라s held the trophy. There바카라s only a few of us that would probably be in the squad that바카라s actually held the trophy, so it바카라s time to bring it home," he concluded.
