Threatened by off-spin bowling's waning impact in limited-overs cricket, India's Ravichandran Ashwin has been trying his hand at leg-spin bowling, ESPNcricinfo reported on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old spinner remains an integral part of India's Test unit but is no longer guaranteed a spot in the starting eleven when it comes to ODIs and T20 cricket — much of which has to do with the game's evolution rather than his own failings.

In order to remedy his skill's diminishing impact and remain relevant, ESPNcricinfo reports that Ashwin has been learning leg-spin bowling and even bowled nine off overs in a recent domestic match, finishing with respectable figures of two for 38 runs.

Encouraged by that showing, Ashwin now plans on using the new wristspin tricks he has learned during the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.

"This is part of my plan going into the IPL," Ashwin is quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "I am just trying to build my armoury. I used to bowl good legbreaks with my offspin action when I was playing league cricket in Chennai. Over a period of time, in a search to get my stock ball right, I obviously had to cut out a lot of those things. I had possessed a lot more variations.

Ashwin admits that picking up new skills at the ripe old age of 31 was a challenge but one that he was confident of overcoming.

"Having bowled off-break as the stock ball for almost 10 years, trying to change things around is challenging," he said. "I have to adjust my action. It has been a painful ride. One day it will come out well in the nets, and the next day it won't come out all right. [But] I have gone through the entire journey and have reached a place where I can land the ball where I want to."

Ashwin credits his insatiable drive for personal improvement as key to his him learning new tricks as this stage of his career, saying: "I don't really settle for anything. At no point in my career, I thought 'this is it' and decided to settle for the rest of my career."