Asked which team he considered CSK's main competitors in the tournament, Ashwin told reporters here yesterday that they can't take any team lightly.
'There are a lot of new teams this time around. No team from Australia can be taken lightly. All teams are tough.'
The lanky off-spinner said he always changes his action a bit to adjust to the three versions of the game.
'I tweak my action a little bit whenever I play in an ODI or T20. Last year, after the Champions League T20, I played an Irani Trophy match, so I changed my action a bit.
'It is easier if its a Test match or a four-day game because you get more time. But T20 is a quick format, it's massively different from ODIs. I don't know how many will agree with me but I think it is a big change as in T20 you get only 24 balls (for a complete spell), whereas in ODIs you get 60 balls.'
Ashwin said the Test series loss had left the India team low in confidence but the side still 'fought to win every match even more than it had during the World Cup.'
Ashwin admitted that the Indian team has been playing a lot of cricket but said that as professionals it is the responsibility of the players to manage the workload.
'Definitely a lot of cricket is being played, but it's part and parcel of the game. If you give me a month off, there's no guarantee that I won't get injured in that time span. So, it's completely about how you look after yourself, how you manage yourself,' he said.
Murali Vijay, Ashwin's teammate and one of the key players of the Chennai outfit, said he was excited to play in the CLT20 and said his team is very well prepared to handle the pressure of being the defending champions.
Vijay also said it is exciting as well as challenging to adjust quickly to the three versions of the game.
'It's definitely hard, for example when you head into a Test match right after playing a T20 tournament, you have to change a lot of things, right from your mindset.
