After Sanjay Manjrekar’s recent comments about Team India off-spinner R Ashwin not being up there to be called as an ‘all-time great’, despite his performances in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia, sparked a debate in the cricketing circles.

While some fans and pundits agreed with the cricketer-turned-commentator, Australian great Ian Chappel disagreed with Manjrekar and went on to say that the Indian off-spinner is better than the Aussie spin veteran Nathan Lyon.

The former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt who agreed with Chappel in his recent YouTube video, also explained the reason behind his stance.

“I agree with him (Ian Chappel). If you compare the two, both have a great line and length. But when it comes to variations, Ravichandran Ashwin is better. If you have to pick one and look at their utilities I will pick Ashwin,” Butt said.

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“He bats, plays in all three formats and always does well. Even his action is a little hard to pick, while Nathan Lyon’s action is basic. I wouldn’t say there is a huge difference between the two, but Ashwin has the edge for me,” he added.

The southpaw then talked about what makes Ashwin better than Lyon even though both of them are quality spinners.

“Ashwin uses angles and the crease well, and uses his fingers like Ajantha Mendis. He has been a top performer in all three formats of the game. Ravichandran Ashwin has done well in the IPL too, and there is a stark difference between Nathan Lyon and Ravichandran Ashwin,” the 36-year-old said.

The former Pakistan opener then went on to say that if he was the captain of the team, he would’ve picked the Chennai-based off-spinner.

“Nathan Lyon is a wonderful bowler as well. But if you compare the two, if I was the captain, I would pick Ashwin,” Butt signed off.