What is Doosra in Cricket? Definition, Origin & Specialists of The Spin Bowling Variation
Know what is Doosra, its origin and the bowling technique required to perfect this type of spin bowling. Also, learn the best practitioners of Doosra.
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Simply put, a “Doosra” is an off-spinner’s mystery delivery that would turn in the opposite direction of an off-break ball, intended to leave the batter perplexed and ideally dismissed. It is equivalent to a leg-spinner’s googly.
Origin on “Doosra”
Former Pakistan bowling legend Saqlain Mushtaq invented the Doosra and made this type of spin bowling world-famous by successfully executing against the Australians at the Sharjah in the late 1990s. His unconventional spin bowling was named “Doosra” by compatriot and wicket-keeper Moin Khan. The “Do” in Doosra means “two” in Urdu and Hindi. Here, however, Moin Khan meant the “other one” or “the second one”.
After getting immense success with it in Sharjah, Mushtaq continued to use it to good use during the 1997/98 World Series Tri-Nation Tournament, which was played between Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand. After hearing Moin Khan repeatedly shouting the term “Doosra” from behind the stumps, Tony Greg confirmed the terminology from the Pakistan gloveman during a post-match presentation.
Since then, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal has used Doosra to great effect in limited-overs cricket. However, the one who took it to unprecedented levels was Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan, the highest wicket-taker in cricket history across all formats.
India’s Harbhajan Singh and England’s Moeen Ali had also mastered the skill to a large extent and fetched great success. Other bowlers who also successfully used the Doosra to get wickets were England’s Monty Panesar and Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath.
How to Bowl a Doosra
The toughest part of executing a Doosra delivery perfectly is to make it seem like just another off-break delivery before the ball pitches and turns in the opposite direction. Hence, a Doosra is an off-spinner bowling leg-break from a similar trajectory and grip.
So, a right-arm off-spinner will turn a Doosra towards a right-handed batter’s body while a left-arm off-spinner will turn a Doosra away from the same batter and vice versa. This inconvenience makes it very difficult for batters to play the delivery if one fails to read the ball from the hand.
Technique of Bowling a Doosra
A Doosra can be an ultimate weapon for an off-spinner and consequently, a very difficult technique to expertise in. One would need immense hours of practice to master this skill and below we discuss the technique.
1. How to grip a ball to bowl a Doosra?
The most important part of executing a perfect Doosra is how one grips the ball. As discussed above, the fundamental factor of a mystery ball is to deceive the batter. Hence, a bowler must lock one’s wrist and grip the ball with the index and ring (fourth) finger, while the thumb must be bending and out of the way. The seam of the ball should run across the fingers although the grip differs from bowler to bowler who makes minor adjustments and finger length. One must also note that the grip shouldn’t be tight to provide a perfect release.
Image Credits: Michael Stravato/For the Washington Post
After understanding the grip of delivering a Doosra, next comes another difficult part - the releasing of the ball. An off-spinner must rotate his or her wrist in a way that the back of the hand is pointing towards the square leg. To get this arm and wrist position right, the bowler must drop the shoulder and bend one’s elbow more than a traditional off-spin bowling.
This slight bend in the shoulder and elbow will result in the ball getting released from a lower position than an unusual off-spin delivery, and if a batter notices this subtle change in nuances, a Doosra delivery can easily be identified. Hence, to keep the batter deceived throughout the delivery a spinner’s forearm must be less pronated than usual, in a way that the batter can see the back of the hand while the ball is released and not the grip. The lesser the elbow bends, the more difficult it becomes for the batter to recognize the delivery.
An easier way to practice Doosra is through the ball’s seam position before its release. When bowling to a right-hander, a right-arm off-spinner must grip the same so that it points towards the first slip. On the other hand, an orthodox left-arm bowler should keep the seam towards fine leg while bowling to a right-hander. The pace of a Doosra delivery can be adjusted accordingly.
3. How do you spin the ball for Doosra?
After one has perfected the grip, elbow positioning and wrist position, it is time to learn the mystery spin. The modified technique allows the bowler to perform an extended range of transverse shoulder rotation just before the ball gets released and if done right, the ball can spin in the reverse direction to a normal off-spin - which is a leg-break.
A bowler must practice for hours to attain a greater extent of elbow flexion from a horizontal arm to get the Doosra right. However, it becomes difficult to bowl a Doosra within ICC’s purview of not bending one’s arm to more than 15 degrees. Anything more would be considered illegal, which has seen West Indies bowler Sunil Narine, South Africa’s Johan Botha, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal and many others to be suspended before they perfected their action.
Top 5 bowlers who bowled Doosra
Top 5 bowlers who bowled Doosra
| Bowler | Country | Matches | Wickets |
| Muttiah Muralitharan | Sri Lanka | 495 | 1347 |
| Harbhajan Singh | India | 367 | 711 |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | Pakistan | 218 | 496 |
| Shoaib Malik | Pakistan | 446 | 218 |
| Johan Botha | South Africa | 123 | 126 |
1. Muttiah Muralitharan
One of the legends of the game and cricket’s highest wicket-taker, Muttiah Muralitharan was known for his nimble wrists and flexible shoulder that could rotate as fast as a pacer during a delivery, which helped him to add an insane amount of rotations compared to traditions off-spinners. After mastering the art of Doosra, Muralitharan became the great Shane Warne’s rival and his brilliant display against Australia in 2004 stirred controversy due to his seemingly bowling action. He went under supervision numerous times before he rose to greatness and ended his career with a whopping 1347 wickets in just 495 matches across all three formats of the game.
2. Saqlain Mushtaq
When Saqlain Mushtaq unleashed his weapon in the 1990s, batters were clueless about this art form. The Pakistan bowler’s brilliant control over the ball led him to get numerous wickets in the beginning before batters eventually recognized his slight change in elbow movement to identify his next move. However, Mushtaq lacked discipline and is often criticized for trying too many variations that led him to be less economical in terms of conceding runs. He took 496 wickets across ODIs and Test cricket.
3. Harbhajan Singh
India has had a plethora of off-break bowlers who tried their hands at exacting Doosra, but none could come close to what Harbhajan Singh achieved. Widely regarded as the best off-spinner to play for India, Bhajji took a whopping 711 wickets across all three formats of cricket. However, as has been the case with most bowlers who tried their hands in Doosra, Harbhajan was reported by umpires Mark Benson and Aleem Dar. Later, ICC found his arm to be straightened by 10 degrees, which was five degrees below the cricket body’s rule. Hence, Hatbhajan continued.
FAQs
In the initial years, ICC remained very strict about its bowling action with bowlers like Muralitharan and Harbhajan being reported by umpires numerous times. Later, the world body amended its rules to allow the bowling arm to straighten up to 15 degrees.
The “teesra” is just another type of off-spin bowling, although it is not as intricate and artistic as the doosra. A “teesra” spin bowling is similar to a slider where the bowler rolls the fingers down the back of the ball instead of twisting the arm itself. This is just plain, old back-spin, where the ball seemingly looks to turn a lot but in reality, it doesn't.
An M.A. in English Literature, Subhayan is an experienced journalist and sports writer. Having worked as a journalist at Hindustan Times, Subhayan covered diverse beats including sports, education, and health, showcasing his versatility and in-depth understanding of various subjects.