It is no shame in getting selection wrong in the first match of a four-match Test series and clearly Australia did that in Chennai by going in with just Lyon, and three pacemen Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc as well as all-rounder Moises Henriques.
From the moment anyone laid eyes on the mud or clay-like wicket in Chennai it was clearly evident that the quick bowlers would have a limited role in the game and that's how it panned out with India winning by eight wickets with all 20 of Australia's wickets they claimed being taken by spinners.
Lyon didn’t set the world on fire when he took 3-215 and then 1-29 in the two innings as India cruised to victory, but it was hardly the sort of performance to suggest that he couldn’t make a significant contribution in Hyderabad.
Australia only needed to look to England's tour on India late last year to see the blueprint on what was required.
England went into the First Test with just the one spinner Graeme Swann and lost comprehensively by nine wickets in Ahmedabad.
However, they went on to smash India in the next two Tests by 10 and seven wickets respectively to end up winning the series in India 2-1.
While their batsmen have so far performed much better, especially their top-order, the main reason for their victory in India was because they went with two spinners.
Swann was joined by Monty Panesar and the results were obvious. Over those two Tests that England won, Panesar took a combined 16-375 and Swann 11-229.
While they might be better bowlers than Lyon and Xavier Doherty, the fact that the pair combined so well together and gave England a top-class off-spinner and left-arm orthodox bowler to turn to should have given Australia an insight on what the recipe to success was.
While Doherty was always going to come in and play the Second Test in Chennai to give Australia that left-arm spinner, there was no reason to drop Lyon.
They should have been played together and then even if they didn’t perform at the level Swann and Panesar did, at least it would have given Australia a much better chance than going with all-rounder Glenn Maxwell did.
At this point in his career, the 24-year-old Victorian is nothing more than a part-time off-spin option especially at Test level. His first-class career is nothing to write home about with 27 wickets in 15 matches at an average 33.8.
Lyon and Doherty should have been given the chance to see what they could do together in Chennai, and even though it might be too late to save the Test series, fingers crossed it happens in Mohali and Delhi.