R Ashwin ready to be 'boring' to face 'slow' West Indies challenge

Basseterre (St. Kitts), July 14: On the slow pitches in the Caribbean, India's offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin is ready to be "boring" to get wickets in the 4-Test series starting on July 21.

Kumble bowls at nets" title="Ind-WI series schedule; Kumble bowls at nets" />Ind-WI series schedule; Kumble bowls at nets

India will wind up pre-Test preparations with a 3-day warm-up game against the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) President's XI from today (July 14). The first Test against the West Indies starts in Antigua.

Speaking to the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) website on Wednesday (July 13), Ashwin said it will be a challenge to play on the slow wickets and in hot weather. (Kumble introduces $50 fine)

"I am sure it is going to be challenging because of the kind of wickets and the heat. It is very important to quickly adapt to these conditions," the 29-year-old said.

"Whatever I saw in the last game (warm-up match), the wickets were pretty slow. Looks like it is going to be slow (in the series). It will be a bit of challenge. I am sure I have to be prepared for a long haul and try to be as boring as possible in terms of plugging away all day long. Once the results come they will be faster. We have to just wait, that is what I figured out from the last game," he added.

When he was asked about West Indies' squad, he felt it was a "good line-up" but expressed confidence in India's bowling attack to capture all 20 wickets. This will be the first Test series in the Caribbean for Ashwin. In the current squad, only captain Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma have previously played a Test in the West Indies.

"It looks like a pretty good line-up. Looks like they have gone in for lot of all-round players, who can bat and bowl a bit. That is interesting. We have to see the kind of strategies they adopt for the Test series. I am very sure we can break the back (of batting line-up). We have got a good bowling attack," Ashwin, who has taken 176 wickets in 32 Tests, explained.

The Tamil Nadu slow bowler said he takes "pride" in being the leader of the attack. "Being the leader of the pack, I take pride in it. There are a lot of challenges that come with and there are lot of advantages with it. You are always confident. You know that you are the one who is going to go ahead and do the job.

"The team is going to look forward to you to try and deliver the breakthroughs and the vital wickets that are required. The challenge that come with it is obviously the pressure. But pressure is what I have always played for and that keeps me going. And I have enjoyed," he said.

OneIndia News