Senior England batsman Joe Root has expressed his admiration for Ravichandran Ashwin, praising the Indian off-spinner's versatility, aggressive approach, and unwavering quest for wickets. Root considers Ashwin a persistent threat who deviates from conventional strategies and focuses on attacking rather than wearing down the opposition.

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Joe Root compares R Ashwin and Nathan Lyon

Recently surpassing the 500-wicket milestone in Test cricket, Ashwin joined the esteemed company of Anil Kumble as only the second Indian bowler to achieve this feat. As Ashwin gears up to play his 100th Test match in the upcoming fifth match against England, scheduled to commence on March 7 in Dharamsala, his exceptional skill and impact on the game continue to earn accolades from opponents like Root.

"Ashwin is always trying to find ways of getting you out rather than trying to wear you down, over long periods of time," Joe Root said on Sky Sports cricket podcast.

"He uses creases differently from traditional off-spinners. He uses over-spin, side-spin, can get really tight to the stumps, can go wider and he has got the carrom ball, you know, a lot of different tricks.

"So, you will have to be really wary of different threats that he poses and make sure that you have very good skill sets to counter (him) and be on top of him," said the ex-England skipper.

Giving an insight into the way Ashwin operates, Root said the Tamil Nadu man often bowls six different deliveries in an over.

"Ashwin is making sure that you don't play the previous ball. He is very good at trying to drag you across the crease and get your head to one side of it and beat both edges quite frequently," he said.

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Joe Root said Ashwin poses different threats while bowling with new and old balls. Root also offered a comparison between Ashwin and Nathan Lyon, the other premier off-spinner of this generation. The 36-year-old Australian has taken 527 wickets from 128 Tests.

"There are different things to contend with because of his seam position and how cleverly he can move around the shiny side that has got some extra skid.

"So, you have to make sure that you are in position a little bit quicker. He can also drift the ball away and bring the slip fielder into play," he explained.

"With Lyon it is all about, I think, especially in the first half of the Test match, to get over the top of the ball, get the bowl bounce, knee roll high, in between and try to bring short leg and leg slip into the game as much as he can.

"Then just slowly, get slower with his pace and drift wider into that. There are those footmarks, you know, Mitchell Starc has so kindly done for him for such a long period of time," added Root.