Saqlain Mushtaq has doubts on Nathan Lyon

Pakistan spin great Saqlain Mushtaq will have raised eyebrows among the slow bowling fraternity by declaring Australia's Nathan Lyon still has more to do to prove himself at Test level.

Lyon, with 195 Test wickets at 32.87 from 54 Tests matches, is Australia's greatest ever off-spinner in terms of volume of Test scalps taken. 

It's a standing in the game that has seen many of Lyon's teammates take to calling him GOAT – an acronym for the Greatest Of All Time that doesn't sit comfortably with the 28-year-old from Young in New South Wales.

Lyon passed Hugh Trumble's mark of 141 Test scalps last winter when he dismissed Kraigg Brathwaite in his 41st Test in Jamaica. 

He currently sits fifth on the list of Australian slow-bowling wicket-takers, a list headed by the incomparable leg-spinner Shane Warne. 

Saqlain, however, remains far from impressed, putting Lyon alongside England's Moeen Ali and declaring India's Ravichandaran Ashwin a far more complete bowler. 

"Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali still need to prove themselves but Ashwin is a world-class bowler and is bowling superbly at the moment," Saqlain told reporters at the Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

"Ashwin has proved himself at Test level but the other two still need to do a bit more."

Fans of Lyon may wonder what that "bit more" is. 

The Australian will look to bring up his 200th Test scalp in his country's next series, against Sri Lanka in mid-year, perhaps at the same Galle venue where he made his debut in 2011. 

Details of the Sri Lankan tour are yet to be finalised by the hosts. 

In fact, Lyon needs only 13 more wickets to equal Saqlain's Test haul of 208 wickets achieved in 49 Tests.

Now entrenched as Australia's first-choice spinner after he was dropped twice during Australia's 2013 tours of India and England, Lyon is tracking towards being one of Australian cricket's most successful ever bowlers should he maintain his fitness and form. 

Based on his current record of roughly 35 wickets and 10 Tests per year, Lyon should have somewhere between 400 and 450 Test wickets by the time he's 35. And that's crunching the numbers conservatively.

Lyon has a near identical record home and away. Following the Christchurch Test he had played 26 Tests at home and abroad. A further two were played at neutral venues in the UAE against Pakistan. 

Lyon has taken 101 wickets in Australia and 91 away, with an average of 31.97 at home compared to 30.31 on foreign soil. His economy is slightly better at home, his strike rate marginally better away.

Ashwin, who has played 32 Tests for 176 wickets, has a vastly superior record in home conditions, where his average is 20.92 compared to 36.66 abroad. Ashwin's strike right in India is 46.3, whereas its 67.5 abroad. He has also benefited from playing 19 of his 32 Tests at home.

Saqlain defended Ashwin's record away from home, saying a dip in results was to be expected.

"Ashwin has skills. He has troubled batsmen in the subcontinent and he is capable of doing that outside as well," Saqlain said.

"One needs to accept that in places like England and Australia, the performance graph will go down a bit.

"In Australia, you will play with three pacers and a specialist spinner, in India it will be opposite. The surface, the condition, the ball, everything changes. So if Ashwin gets five-for in India, he will perhaps get three in Australia. 

"A captain's plan for spinners in Australia is completely different unless there is some grip in the pitch. Spinner is your fourth option and accordingly will bowl less number of overs,"

Lyon and Ashwin have gone head-to-head in nine Tests, six in Australia and three in India. The numbers provide for endless study, each is a better bowler in home conditions, but what is certain is each belongs at Test level.

Lyon and Ashwin head-to-head

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