KARACHI: Former Pakistan spiner Iqbal Qasim reckons that calling the ‘Doosra’ an illegal delivery during a Pakistan match isn’t right since off-spiners all over the world have now started mastering its art.
Qasim’s claims come after former West Indian pacer and commentator Michael Holding said that the Doosra could not be bowled legally during the second One-day International match between Pakistan and West Indies in St Lucia.
“Such a comment which is directed at a team is not prudent from a commentator like Holding,” Qasim told PPI.
“Doosra is no more the secret weapon of Pakistani bowlers as other bowlers like Sri Lanka’s Ajanta Mendis and India’s Harbhajan Singh are also bowling it with great effect.
“Pointing fingers only at the Pakistani bowlers is not correct.”
Iqbal advised Holding to take his reservations over the ‘Doosra to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and ask them to take laboratory test not only of the Pakistani spinners but of every bowler who bowls it before commenting on its legality.
Qasim added that since the referees and umpires monitoring the matches haven’t objected to the delivery, the probability that the ‘Doosra’ being illegitimate is very low.
“There are cameras, umpires and referees closely observing matches so if Doosra had been an illegal delivery, they must have had complained to ICC. However nothing has happened yet and hence, Doosra is a legal delivery,” he said.
He recalled the incident of the Australians complaining about the bowling action of Sri Lankan spin maestro Muttiah Muralitharan before it was deemed legal by the ICC.
