How to bowl a legal 'doosra' - Saqlain Mushtaq is the living example

The one and only Saqlain Mushtaq – hard to find a ‘doosra’

‘Doosra’ – world over there’s a different reaction to the term, depending on which part of the cricketing world you’re in.

While the traditionalists consider it an absolute abomination in the game, that’s hardly the feeling among a growing number of spinners in subcontinent and even outside, as bowlers are searching for ways to fox the batsmen in this increasingly skewed world of cricket.

Widely associated with ex-Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who brought the delivery into limelight, ‘doosra’ levelled the playing field for off-spinners, who were increasingly becoming just run-saving options. The biggest criticisim of ‘doosra’ lies in the bowlers’ attempted ‘chucking’ while delivering the ball.

While Saqlain himself never had any issues bowling the ‘doosra’, spinners after him have come under criticism for throwing while attempting to turn the ball the other way. Have a look at a beautiful delivery bowled by Saqlain to Australia’s Damien Martyn:

If you check the comments on this video on YouTube, you’d think the popular opinion was that Saqlain was chucking. But unfortunately, incomplete knowledge of the rules has resulted in chucking becoming a word often used incorrectly.

While Saqlain’s elbow does appear have a slight bend – it’s hard to tell due to rather longish sleeves – there’s no flexion throughout his action, i.e., the bowler, though delivering the ball with a slightly (maybe) bent elbow, doesn’t straighten his arm enough to call it ‘chucking’. Remember, the limit is 15 degrees, to which a bowler can straighten his/her arm during the bowling action.

Unfortunately, a large number of ‘cricket fans’ consider a bent elbow as a sign of chucking, while it’s the amount of the ‘elbow extension’ which is the main concern, i.e. how much does the elbow straighten during the bowling action.

While the actions of other bowlers may be illegal, by definition calling a ‘doosra’ an illegal delivery is simply unfair to other bowlers who may be able to bowl the delivery within the rules.

“Who says doosra is illegal?. It can easily be delivered within the allowed rules. It is not an easy delivery to bowl but if a bowler becomes expert he doesn't transgress limits,” Saqlain recently said.

“You need to have strong muscles to bowl a doosra, then fitness matters, also grip, rhythm and follow through. If just one of these things is missing then you get out of limits.”

Saqlain is currently working with Saeed Ajmal to correct his action, and if he manages to achieve that, it’ll be yet another of his great contributions towards Pakistan cricket.

Here’s a collection of Saqlain’s ‘doosras’ which bamboozled the batsmen: