"Ashwin is a wonderful bowler. They've got some other match winners, as well. We've played spin really well over the last five years. In fact, it's definitely not a weakness of our team," De Villiers made it clear at the media conference on the eve of match here today.
"I am not saying that Ashwin can't win them a game tomorrow as we know what all he's capable of. We have got respect for him and his abilities as a bowler. But it's not in the area we're worried about
De Villiers made it clear that his strike bowler Dale Steyn will prove to be a handful in the tournament unlike IPL, where the South African skipper himself, playing for RCB has punished the speedster, donning the Hyderabad jersey.
More From This Section
For De Villiers, it's a non-issue as to whether India will be charged up as they are meeting them on the back of a convincing win against Pakistan.
"I'm not too worried about other teams' results, even though we are part of the whole tournament, and it does influence us. I've encouraged the guys not to take part in too much of the other cricket going on. We know India are still the world champions. We know they are an incredible cricket team, so the respect factor is definitely still there, and the respect for us towards them as a cricket team is definitely there.