The doosra spins in the opposite direction to an off break (the off-spinner's default delivery), and aims to confuse the batter into playing an unavoidable shot.
Users include Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan, Indian Harbhajan Singh, and South African Johan Botha.
The naming of the delivery is attributed to Moin Khan, the former Pakistani wicketkeeper, who would call on Saqlain Mushtaq to bowl the "doosra" (the other one) from behind the stumps.
Tony Greig, a commentator in one of these matches, eventually linked the word to the delivery and confirmed it with Saqlain in a post-match interview.
The doosra is the off-spinner's equivalent of the leg-spinner's googly, which spins in the opposite direction to the leg spinner's stock ball.
While Saqlain never had legitimacy issues regarding his action, other off-spinners attempting to utilize the delivery have had accusations (for the most part dismissed) of chucking (throwing) levelled against them.
These include Sohag Gazi, Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh, Shoaib Malik, Saeed Ajmal and Johan Botha.
Muralitharan's doosra was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 2004, for illegal bending of the arm at the elbow during the bowling action.
[8][9] A rule change was proposed and accepted at a meeting of ICC chief executives in early 2005, stating that any bowler may straighten the arm up to 15° (which was earlier 9° for spinners and 12° for seamers) and Muralitharan's doosra once again became a legal delivery.
[10] In February 2006, in an attempt to silence the Australian crowds and their "no ball" chants, Muralitharan took another test at the University of Western Australia, which saw all of his deliveries deemed legal under the new relaxed definition including the doosra which was changed to accommodate not only him but 99% bowlers at the time.
He and the Pakistan Cricket Board had previously unsuccessfully argued that a 2003 road accident caused the damage to his elbow which makes his action appear suspect.
Although initially he hoped to make the 2015 Cricket World Cup he subsequently ruled himself out in December 2014 after deciding not to get his action retested by the ICC[17] and although his ban was lifted in February 2015[18] did not feature in the showpiece event.
The doosra of Bangladeshi bowler Shohag Gazi was very difficult for Indian batsmen to read and play in his first match against India.