That Was The Lowest I Ever Felt In My life After Southampton: Ravichandran Ashwin Opens Up About 'Insensitive' Comparison With Nathan Lyon After The Adelaide Test In 2018

Indian ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently opened up about his never-ending comparison with veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon.

Ashwin and Lyon have been the leading spinner of their generation in Test cricket and just like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, fans and pundits continue to debate as to who is the better spinner among the two.

The comparison gets even more intense whenever India and Australia lock horns with each other. In the recently concluded series, Ravichandran Ashwin outbowled his Aussie counterpart by a comfortable margin.

While Ashwin claimed as many as 12 wickets across three games, Nathan Lyon managed just 9 in four Tests.

Ashwin opened up about what he termed as an ‘insensitive’ comparison with Lyon post the 2018 Adelaide Test, where the Indian off-spinner had played a significant role in setting up the game for India in the first innings in what turned out to be an eventual victory for Virat Kohli’s men.

The Tamil Nadu off-spinner termed it as one of the lowest moments of his career.

“There has been a lot of noise about how I am bowling and pitting me against someone like Nathan Lyon. During the previous tour in Adelaide, I picked up six wickets and kept on bowling despite a tear in the abdomen,” Ashwin recalled in an interview with Hindustan Times.

“After the match, there was a comparison between us with suggestions of how well Lyon bowled. I felt it was extremely insensitive towards a good performance. That was the lowest I ever felt in my life after Southampton (2018),” he added.

 

 

‘I feel I have been constantly put under the microscope’-Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin reckoned that despite his stellar numbers, he has always been put under the scanner, and leading into the Australian series, he had decided he will target the best batsman in their side i.e Steve Smith.

And, he did that brilliantly as he knocked over the former Australian captain on three occasions.

“I feel I have been constantly put under the microscope. I did take it upon myself personally. So rather than me competing against Lyon, I thought I must be competing against Smith. Lyon is a lovely bowler and I have respect for him. But my focus was on something else,” Ravichandran Ashwin further said.

On his comparisons with Nathan Lyon or Moeeen Ali, Ashwin said-

”If Moeen Ali or Nathan Lyon is bowling outside off-stump to a glorious plan and Shane Warne is talking beautifully about it in the commentary box, it doesn’t mean I have to do the same thing and wickets will fall. Because he is bowling to Indian batsmen and I’m bowling against English and Aussie batters,” he said.

“As far as I’m concerned, I bowl at other team batsmen not at Indian batters. If I have to bowl at Indian batsman then I may try what Ali or Lyon does. And sometimes the comparison between Ali and Lyon and myself, I have taken way too personally and it has hurt me and it will remain a hurt as long as I live,” he added.

Also Read: I think I Have Done Enough To Say I Am The Best Spinner: Ravichandran Ashwin