Perth, Mar 5: India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is all set for the challenge of facing some of the biggest hitters in the game when his side play the West Indies in a World Cup clash in Perth on Friday.
Defending champions India are top of Pool B, with three wins from as many games, but the third-placed West Indies are also in the hunt for a quarter-final place with two wins from four matches.
The West Indies piled up 372 for two in their win over Zimbabwe, with dynamic left-handed opener Chris Gayle making 215, the highest individual World Cup score, and Marlon Samuels an unbeaten 133.
Gayle has long been regarded as one of the most powerful shot-makers in the game, but Ashwin said Thursday that aggressive batting was now commonplace in all one-day international cricket.
"It's not just Chris Gayle, it's any other batsman in world cricket. Anybody who attacks wants to put you off," said Ashwin at Perth's WACA ground.
"I go strongly for getting the wicket of any batsman that I think is dangerous because I like it. I like to throw myself in the middle and try to see how much I can make an impact in that particular game.
"Be it Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers anybody, I look to get them out in the middle."
And Ashwin said he would not be changing his approach should he find himself bowling to Gayle. AFP