Dhoni took the 5th place in the 2011 World Cup final because of me, says Muralitharan

There have been many theories about what led to Ms Dhoni deciding to promote herself in front of Yuvraj Singh in form 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 unbeaten on 91 and Sri Lankan spin great Muttiah Muralitharan said that he thinks his doosra may have been the reason why the then-Indian captain promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj.

Muralitharan said that Dhoni had learnt how to read his doosra when the pair shared a dressing room while playing for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL). “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),” Muralitharan said on ESPNCricinfo.

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

“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.

“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,” he said.