R Ashwin and Nathan Lyon
Former Indian cricketer and presently a cricket commentator and analyst, Aakash Chopra, on Saturday picked Australia's Nathan Lyon as the better off-spinner in comparison to his Indian counterpart, Ravichandran Ashwin. Aakash based his opinion on the fact that the Aussie performs better at venues that are no spin friendly in nature.
Aakash also admitted that he likes Lyon's body action while delivering the ball, the way he puts his body forward before releasing it.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash said, "I am going with Nathan Lyon, especially in the recent past. It is because I like a couple of things about Nathan Lyon. Firstly, I like his body action. He puts the body behind the delivery. He gets a good bounce. And in conditions where the pitch is not tailor-made for spin, there also he does very well."
"If you play Ashwin and Lyon in spin-friendly conditions, say in India, Ashwin will be miles ahead. And he will take wickets quickly and consistently against any opposition team."
"But Nathan Lyon on good surfaces like South Africa, England or Australia, since he is born and bred in Australia, he knows how to put the body behind the ball. He is also friendly with the Kookaburra ball, so the revs on the ball and all of that, Nathan Lyon does that more," Chopra added.
In 96 Tests, Lyon has managed 390 wickets at a strike rate of 63. Ashwin, on the other hand, has picked 365 wickets in 71 matches at a strike rate of 53.7.
Aakash also talked about the lack of leg spinners in the Indian Test cricket team. He cited the example of Kuldeep Yadav's brilliant show in Sydney last year, but reckons that with the presence of Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin, the leggie will find it hard to find a spot in the Indian team.
"There is a fight for place when there is spot for one spinner, when there is spot for two spinners then Ashwin and Jadeja both play. Playing 3 spinners in the team becomes impossible," Aakash said.
