The Doosra: Off-Spin's Other Ball That Changed Bowling
The doosra is an off-spinner's delivery that turns the opposite way to the off-break. Its development transformed off-spin bowling and triggered a lengthy controversy over bowling action legality.
The doosra — which means 'the other one' in Hindi and Urdu — is a delivery bowled by off-spin bowlers that turns from leg to off for a right-handed batter, opposite to the conventional off-break. Where the off-break turns from off stump toward leg stump, the doosra turns from leg stump toward off stump, creating an entirely different angle of attack that batters who have read the off-spinner's action for an off-break are unprepared for. The delivery was developed by Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan in the late 1990s and became one of the most controversial deliveries in cricket history due to questions about whether it can be bowled with a legal action.
The Technical Delivery
The doosra is bowled by rotating the wrist in the opposite direction to the off-break at the point of release — turning the back of the hand toward the batter rather than the palm. This causes the ball to rotate in the opposite direction, creating leg-to-off spin. The bowling action required to execute the doosra naturally results in a degree of elbow extension that, under ICC regulations, must not exceed 15 degrees beyond the straightening of the arm that occurs in all bowling actions. The elbow straightening required for the doosra was found by ICC testing to exceed this limit in many practitioners.
Muttiah Muralitharan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Harbhajan Singh and Johan Botha were among those tested and challenged under the bowling action regulations. Muralitharan's unique arm structure — he was found to have a permanently bent elbow due to a congenital condition — made his action's legality a particularly contentious long-running issue. The ICC's biomechanical testing regime, introduced in the early 2000s, required suspect bowlers to undergo motion-capture analysis that measured elbow extension precisely.
Impact on Off-Spin Bowling
Despite the controversy, the doosra changed off-spin bowling permanently. Batters could no longer read an off-spinner's action and automatically assume every delivery was an off-break. The possibility of the doosra forced batters to play more cautiously, treating each delivery as potentially a spinner in either direction. Off-spinners who developed a reliable doosra — whether within the legal limits or not — became significantly harder to dominate. The threat of the delivery rather than the delivery itself often did the work.
Frequently asked questions
Can the doosra be bowled legally without a bent arm?
Research by biomechanics experts has suggested that some bowlers can produce a doosra without exceeding the 15-degree elbow flexion limit, but it requires exceptionally flexible wrists and a very specific release position. The majority of off-spinners who attempt the delivery have been found to exceed the limit. A few bowlers have been cleared by ICC testing after modification of their action.
Is the doosra the same as the teesra?
No. Saqlain Mushtaq claimed to have developed a third variation he called the 'teesra' (the third one) that goes straight on without turning. The teesra's existence and its technical distinction from the doosra have been debated and not definitively demonstrated in match conditions.
Which off-spinners currently bowl the doosra in international cricket?
Few off-spinners bowl the doosra openly at international level because of the bowling action scrutiny it attracts. Some spinners use a subtle wrist variation that approaches a doosra effect without technically being classified as one. The ICC reporting process means any bowler whose doosra is reported is subject to testing.