Saqlain Mushtaq: Inventor of the Doosra and Pakistan's Off-Spin Great

Saqlain Mushtaq is one of cricket's most innovative bowlers — the man credited with inventing the doosra, the off-spinner's variant delivery that turns in the opposite direction to the standard off-break. Born in Lahore in 1976, Saqlain played 49 Tests and 169 ODIs for Pakistan between 1995 and 2004, taking 208 Test wickets at 29.83 and 288 ODI wickets at 21.78. He was the first bowler ever to take 100 wickets in ODI cricket, reaching the milestone in 1998, and he remains one of the most effective limited-overs spinners in history.

The Doosra

The doosra (Urdu for 'the other one') is an off-spinner's delivery that turns away from the right-handed batter — toward the off side — rather than turning in from off to leg as the standard off-break does. Saqlain developed the delivery in the mid-1990s with the help of his mentor Mushtaq Ahmed and began bowling it in international cricket from 1996 onwards. The delivery was initially invisible to most batters because it came out of the same action as the off-break. Saqlain used it to dismiss batters who were playing for the standard turn — the ball would go the other way and they would nick behind or be bowled through the gate.

ODI Dominance

In ODI cricket, Saqlain was genuinely destructive — 288 wickets at 21.78 across 169 matches is an outstanding record for any format. He took five wickets in an ODI innings four times and was Pakistan's primary weapon against top batting line-ups in the death overs and during powerplays alike. His combination of off-break, doosra and well-disguised variations made him very difficult to play. He later became a highly sought-after bowling coach, working with England's spin attack under coaching staff from 2009 to 2016.