There have been many theories regarding the enigma of former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni deciding to promote himself ahead of the in-form Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka. The decision turned out to be one of the most important aspects of India’s win in the final, with Dhoni hitting the winning runs and ending the match playing an unbeaten knock of 91. However, Sri Lankan spin legend, Muttiah Muralitharan said that he thinks his doosra may have been the reason why the then-India captain decided to come at no.5 ahead of Yuvraj.

Muttiah Muralitharan said that Dhoni had learned the art of reading his doosra when the pair shared a dressing room while playing for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Talking about the same during a recent chat on ESPNCricinfo, Muttiah Muralitharan said, “I would say Dhoni read it towards the end when I was bowling to him in Chennai. I remember in the World Cup, Yuvraj didn’t have a clue on me. He was supposed to come but I think because of me Dhoni came (ahead of Yuvraj).”

Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired from ODI cricket after the 2011 World Cup, said that there were very few Indian cricketers who had managed to read his doosra. He remains the all-time highest wicket-taker in ODIs and Tests with 534 and 800 wickets respectively.

Describing the same, Muttiah Muralitharan said, “Sachin (Tendulkar) definitely read it. I thought Rahul (Dravid) didn’t read it that well. (VVS) Laxman read it as well as (Gautam Gambir) Gambhir. (Virender) Sehwag I don’t know if he read it all the time.

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He further added, “When I bowled the doosra, I didn’t use the seam. So with the seam, you can’t see it, you will have to see it from my wrist. Among the Sri Lankan players, (Kumar) Sangakkara, Mahela (Jayawardene), Aravind de Silva, Marvan Atapattu read it. (Tilakaratne) Dilshan never had a clue.”