During this time of lockdown when all the sporting activities have come to a halt, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has opened up on the test series that India and Australia are scheduled to play later this year.
Talking about that series that is now touted to be played without any crowd behind closed doors, Nathan said that the Australian bowlers are pondering over the fact how the Indian skipper Virat Kohli will play with no spectators around due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Nathan Lyon on Tuesday said that it would be very interesting to see how Kohli will go to play on the ground with any audience to cheer him, but also praised his abilities and mentality of how adjusts in the challenging situations.
“He is probably good enough to adapt to any scenario. But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it’ll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the empty seats,” cricket.com.au quoted Lyon as saying.
“It is going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in,” he added.
The last time India toured Australia for a Test series was in 2018-19 when the visitors outplayed the home side for the first time ever in a Test series. Australian side was missing the services of David Warner and Steve Smith due to their ball-tampering incident. But this time both of them will be available for the most anticipated series to be played in December.
“I am excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it’s up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They are an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we have got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world,” Lyon said.
“I have not thought about no crowds or massive crowds, it is just about the opportunity of playing against India again. They had the wood over us last time they came over here but we are a much stronger Australian cricket side at the moment, and I am just unbelievably excited about playing them here at home,” he added.
Lyon has been a crucial bowler for Australia for a while now and is the third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game for Australia. He has taken 390 wickets in the Test cricket so far.