The 62-year-old claims what makes Ravichandran Ashwin more valuable to India is his ability to contribute with the bat and score runs consistently down the order.
The Sri Lankan off spinner is suffering from general wear and tear, and a build up of fluid around a nerve.
"I'm sure the Australian public would love to see him here," the Australia captain said.
India's top envoy Nirupam Sen said the ace spinner is "pride and pleasure" for Indians as well.
The off-spinner is hopeful of winning the battle against the Trinidadian on the the tour of the Caribbean.
Sri Lankan slow bowling spearhead Rangana Herath believes that Australia's limited opportunities to face quality spinners in domestic cricket will enhance his side's chances of success in next week's second Test.
Harbhajan Singh does not doubt mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis' potentials but the star off-spinner believes it is old trickster Muttiah Muralitharan who would pose bigger threat for the Indian batsmen in the forthcoming Test series. Harbhajan heaps praise on Mendis, who ran through India's batting order in the Asia Cup final in Karachi, and said it was an extraordinary display of quality spin bowling.
The two spinners were summmoned as replacements for injured ace Muralitharan.
A matchmaking website features a purported profile of the Sri Lankan off-spinner.
The off-spinner has been named in a 16-man squad to tour Australia this month.
The 34-year-old off-spinner, the second most successful bowler in Test history with 635 wickets, will fly to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to be with his young son and is not expected to return
What do you think? Should the Aussies' call to ban the 'doosra' be heeded? Should it stay as just another delivery in the armoury of off-spinners? Have your say.
Muralitharan wants to race with Warne to the historic 500 Test wicket milestone.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad will retire from cricket at the end of the Ashes series against Australia, he said after the third day of the final Test on Saturday.
The ace off-spinner ripped through Bangladesh's first innings with figures of 5-79 on the opening day of the second Test.
He is the ninth bowler and fifth spinner to complete the feat in Tests.
Paying glowing tribute to retiring Muttiah Muralitharan, former Pakistani star Saqlain Mushtaq on Friday said the Sri Lankan spinner is the best of his era and world cricket may not see a bowler like him in next 100 years.
He reached the milestone bowling in last delivery of his 17th over on the final day of the second Test.
Zimbabwe were dismissed for 102 in their second innings, as Sri Lanka won the first Test by an innings and 240 runs.
'The 100th Test match probably means 10 x 100 to my dad, it means a lot to my wife and my mom. My daughters are more excited than I am.'
The leg-spinner's world record bid is threatening to overshadow the two-Test series between Australia and Sri Lanka starting on Thursday.
The master spinner took his total to 533 as he moved ahead of Walsh's 519 wickets.
Iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar did not find a place in Kumar Sangakkara's list of all-time XI while Rahul Dravid was the lone Indian in the team selected by the former Sri Lankan skipper.
The Lankans thought the 274 they put up in the World Cup final against India was a good total, but 'God does not give everything', said the ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, looking back on Saturday's defeat.
Sri Lanka left out World Cup winners Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas from their final 15-man squad for this year's tournament.
'...whether he is a top player or not, it doesn't matter.' 'If I go by a player's name I won't be able to bowl at my best.' 'For me he is just a batter, and my only focus is where I need to land the ball.'
Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi, who never misses an opportunity to take a dig at Muttiah Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh, has once again lashed out at the two premier off-spinners.
80 Tests and 16,634 deliveries -- the least by any bowler in the 400 Test wicket Club -- took him to the cherished landmark.
Muttiah Muralitharan claimed the wicket of Pragyan Ojha on Day 5 of the first Test against India on Thursday to breach the 800 wickets mark and sign off as the highest Test wicket-taker of all time. It is highly unlikely that anyone in contemporary cricket, or in the near future, will even get near that feat.
Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne showered accolades on retiring Muttiah Muralitharan, his arch rival during his playing days, by describing the Sri Lankan as one of the game's great competitors whose world record of Test wickets will be hard to be broken.
Australian media reported that the Indian off-spinner features in the list of seven bowlers with highly suspect action drawn by ICC.
309 - Number of Test wickets taken by Harbhajan Singh, same as that of West Indian Lance Gibbs. Among the off-spinners only Muttiah Muralitharan (756) has taken more.
Foolish to focus only on Mendis: Dravid The Sri Lankan attack is not all about Ajantha Mendis. It will be foolish to focus only on the mystery spinner and ignore others, like Muralitharan and Vaas, warned former India captain Rahul Dravid.
Sri Lanka suffered an injury scare on Tuesday when Muttiah Muralitharan was taken to hospital after complaining of side strain. However, he was ruled fit for the third Test against India, in Mumbai, starting on Wednesday.
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