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Nathan Lyon will go down in Australian cricketing history as the greatest off-spinner to have donned the Australian whites. An incredible turn of events saw Lyon graduate from a pitch curator to a Test cricketer in a short period. In 2010, Lyon was working as ground staff at the Adelaide Oval, and his bowling talent was spotted out of the blue by the then Redbacks coach Darren Berry. In a span of a year, Lyon bagged his Test debut against Sri Lanka in August 2011. In a generation where the trait of conventional off-spinners has gone for a toss, Lyon remains one of those bowlers from the old school. He loves flighting the ball and is a wicket-taking bowler for Australia in the longest format. He is one of those very few bowlers to pick a wicket on his very first delivery of Test cricket when he bagged the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara. He went on to bag a fifer and emerged as one of the prime spinners for Australia post the Shane Warne era. Despite his exceptional record in the Test format, Lyon’s road in international cricket has been far from easy. Despite being Australia’s premier spinner, he was dropped from the Test team twice in 2013. He also had to sit out for two Tests in the Ashes next year in favour of Ashton Agar, but made his return in the final two Tests. After missing out in two Tests, Lyon was rightfully back in the XI and bowled Australia to a victory in the 4th Test. He also played a pivotal role in Australia’s home series victory against India in 2014-15. He also bagged the Man of the Tournament Award for the first time in his career. Soon, the off-spinner brilliantly partnered with the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, and helped Australia win countless Test matches at home. Lyon’s fame to claim moment came during Australia’s tour of India in 2017, where he bagged 19 wickets at an average of 25.26, including his best figures of 8 for 50 at the M. Chinnaswamy. He summed up the tour with another fif
