New Delhi. The Border Gavaskar Trophy is going to start soon. Before this, Australia's veteran spinner Nathan Lyon believed that the opposing players were often the 'best coaches' and admitted that Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had 'taught' him a lot since they first faced each other in 2011-12. Lyon and Ashwin, who made their Test debuts in the same year, will face each other for the eighth time in the long format of the game during the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Perth on November 22.

Lyon told 'Fox Cricket', "Ashwin is a great bowler. I have faced him throughout my career, so I have learned a lot from him. He is a very smart bowler and he learns and adapts very quickly. I think only the best bowlers in the world can do this. He uses his skills for the benefit of himself and the team.

This will be Ashwin's fifth tour of Australia where he has taken 39 wickets in 10 Test matches at an average of 42.15. Lyon admitted that he has studied Ashwin's bowling closely. Especially in the last few years before Australia toured India. He has taught me a lot. I believe that the players you play against are your best coaches.

He further said, "Before going to India, I saw a lot of footage of his bowling, the way he bowls here in Australia, and wanted to see if I could learn something from it. The way I look at cricket is that I have never met a person who has conquered the game, nor have I ever played against or with a person who has conquered the game.

Nathan Lyon is ahead of R Ashwin in terms of a better bowling average outside Asia. While Ashwin has taken wickets at an average of 33.14, Lyon's average has been 30.09. However, in terms of bowling in Asia, Ashwin is far ahead of the Australian spinner. Ashwin's average in Asia is 21.76 while Lyon bowls at an average of 30.81.