Pakistan veteran Mohammad Hafeez wants the ICC to amend its rules so that the ‘doosra’ can become part of the sport again.
The delivery, invented by Pakistan great Saqlain Mushtaq, goes from leg to off when bowled by an off-spinner and was mastered by Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal and India’s Harbhajan Singh. However, the ICC has all but forced the delivery out of circulation after it cracked down heavily on suspect bowling actions. The ‘doosra’ (the other one), almost always results in the spinner flexing his arm beyond the permissible 15 degree flex. In the case of Ajmal, his flex was reported to be over 40 degrees.
Hafeez, who himself was suspended from bowling again for a third time due to an illegal bowling action, said the governing body needs to give off-spinners some leeway. When asked about the rising importance of leg-spinners in limited overs cricket, the Peshawar Zalmi batsman said: “Really happy to see leg spinners come into international cricket. But I still believe something should happen when it comes to the doosra.
“Saeed Ajmal has given us a lot of excitement as well as Saqlain Mushtaq. It is one area ICC must look into. Some extension in the rules… doosra should be a part of cricket, not taken away from it,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by the Daily Express during the PSL in Dubai.
Hafeez said he is not surprised by the rise of leg-spinners, especially in limited overs cricket.
“This is one area that every team looks forward to. Having leg spinners in the team provides them with lots of excitement and options to get wickets,” Hafeez said.
“Leg-spinners are always fascinating when it comes to cricket, starting from Abdul Qadir, when he used to bowl his googly it was a new thing in cricket and everyone loved that. Then the legacy was continued by Anil Kumble from India, Shane Warne from Australia, Mushtaq Ahmad from Pakistan.”
