'It's bl**dy special, I know every Australian fan is looking forward to the Ashes' - Nathan Lyon hopes Australia will finish season with WTC Final-Ashes wins

As the Pat Cummins-led Australian side gears up to take on India in the World Test Championship final, both sides would be keen on staying on top of their games and winning the summit clash of the tournament. India and Australia face each other in the WTC final from June 7 at The Oval, London. Ahead of the clash, veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon came forward to preview the game.

The 35-year-old came forward to opine that the WTC final is just as important as the upcoming Ashes series. Following the end of the WTC final, Australia will then take on the Ben Stokes-led England for the much-anticipated Ashes series that is scheduled to begin from June 16. Talking about the red-ball matches, Lyon opined that the Australian team is quite happy with their preparations.

"Yes, we are playing The Ashes, but we've got a big game that we're up for. This is our grand final, and then our season basically starts again. That's probably where we're quite happy with where we're at with our planning. We are able to understand what we've got around the corner and be OK," Nathan Lyon was quoted as saying by Sportskeeda.

You can wipe off anything that happened in India: Lyon

Furthermore, Nathan Lyon lauded the fans who back the team time and again. Hence he is hoping that during The Ashes the same will continue and the fans will passionately follow Australian team. Moreover, he believes that irrespective of the results and the hard time his team faced while on their India tour, the fans should just forget about it and back Australia for glory in The Ashes.

"It's exciting to be part of the final and the fanfare and stuff around it; it's bloody special. I know every Australian fan is looking forward to the Ashes, and so they should be. But they should also be excited about this match. You can wipe off anything that happened in India," he added.

Nathan Lyon would undoubtedly be one of the most influential players for Australia in both the WTC final and the Ashes series. It is also worth noting that Lyon sits in first place on the list of players with the most wickets in the WTC. With 139 wickets to his name in the tournament, Lyon’s performances could prove to be key for Australia.