Veteran Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon recently opened up on the impact of R Ashwin in his career, calling the Indian off-spinner one of his "biggest coaches".

Lyon and Ashwin have immense mutual respect for each other. Both of them have played pivotal roles in keeping the art of off-spin alive in the era of T20 cricket.

"You look at Ashwin, he's a world-class bowler and somebody I've watched closely from the start of his career We've gone head-to-head many times in different conditions around the world. I've got nothing but respect for Ashwin and the way he's gone about it," Lyon said, as quoted by cricket.com.au.

"I've definitely learned from him. There's an opportunity to learn from the people you play against, and without knowing it he's probably been one of my biggest coaches in a way. It's pretty amazing to see we're both creeping up to that 500 mark, and we'll see where we end up.

"Hopefully at the end of our career we'll sit down and have a nice feed and a beer and talk about it," he added.

Nathan Lyon will be next seen in action in the three-match Test series against Pakistan, starting December 14 in Perth. The 36-year-old is eyeing a major milestone ahead of the series as he is set to become the eighth bowler to claim 500 Test wickets and only the fourth spinner after Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble to achieve this feat.

During the series, Lyon is likely to pip Ashwin in the race to 500 Test scalps as the Indian spinner has 489 wickets to his name.

On the other hand, Ashwin is part of the Indian squad for the two-Test series in South Africa, starting December 26 in Centurion.