Mumbai, December 4, 2024 (Punjab Khabarnama Bureau)- Australia spinner Nathan Lyon admitted he was “more than surprised” to see Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja benched for the Perth Test, and even more perplexed that they might face the same fate in the upcoming 2nd Test in Adelaide starting Friday. Lyon, widely regarded as one of the best Test spinners in the world, acknowledged the high caliber of players in India’s squad. He pointed out that when a player of Ashwin or Jadeja’s quality is left out in favor of someone else, it highlights the depth of India’s team.
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.”
Summary: Nathan Lyon urged Gambhir and Rohit to reconsider India’s winning combination, citing Ashwin’s 530+ wickets and Jadeja’s 300+ wickets.