Australia’s veteran spinner Nathan Lyon shared his surprise after Ravichandran Ashwin was excluded from India’s playing XI in the opening Border-Gavaskar Test against the hosts. Ashwin picked only nine wickets in three Test matches against New Zealand at an average of 41.22.
Thus, the off-spinner was not backed for the opening Test whereas Ravindra Jadeja was also overlooked. Washington Sundar played as the only spinner in the final XI and the off-spinner returned with figures of 2-48 in the second innings of the series opener.
“More than surprises me. But the quality of Indian cricketers that they got in that squad, don’t they? You’ve got Ashwin and 530 odd wickets and then you got Ravindra Jadeja over 300 wickets or whatever it may be. So it’s pretty remarkable to see the quality of player tha are sitting on the bench. But I can’t control with who they run out, but it would be a good challenge, no matter who they bring out,” Nathan Lyon told reporters.
Lyon added that India has a galaxy of superstars in the team but said cricket is a team sport and collective effort is always needed to succeed.
“I look at the Indian squad and see a group of superstars. Cricket, however, is a team game-winning requires the entire side to perform well. India boasts extraordinary players like Bumrah and others, but it’s not just about the superstars. The rest of the Indian squad is also incredibly talented. They’re an incredible cricket team. We’re not focusing solely on any one player, that’s for sure,” said Lyon.
“We have nothing but respect for every Indian cricketer who takes the field on Friday. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to compete. We respect them, but we’re determined to play our brand of cricket and compete hard against a quality side. India is one of the best teams in the world.”
The second Test match between Australia and India, which will be a pink-ball game, will be played at Adelaide Oval from December 6 onwards.
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