KARACHI: Former Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq indirectly questioned the legality of ‘Doosra’ in the current era.
The inventor of the mystery ball, said that, due to his technique, he never felt any difficulty in managing the away going delivery,” he told a private television channel on Thursday.
He declined to comment on the official rules, in this regard, saying that it was the job of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to look into the matter.
“It [Doosra] can be delivered with the normal bowling action as well, but the bowlers, these days, have to better their techniques and work harder on it to attain perfection,” he said.
“Doosra is a delivery, from an off-spinner, which drifts away, after pitching, instead of coming in to a right-handed batsman. Under the ICC regulations, a bowler is allowed to flex the elbow, of the bowling arm, at an angle of 15 degrees while delivering the Doosra.
Saqlain however feels the 15-degree relaxation, from the ICC, is way too much. Citing his own example, the former off-spinner added that he used an array of muscles to deliver Doosra cleanly.
“My grip was different and I used the back shoulder muscle in tandem with the front-foot and the calf muscle to deliver the Doosra with ease,” he said.
“It is not impossible to do it cleanly, but the bowlers need to practice more to reach that level’, Saqlain, who claimed 208 wickets in 49 Tests from 1995 to 2004, commented.
“My era was different, now, when the ICC has already relaxed the limit, we should live with it and move on instead,” he concluded.
