If everything goes according to the plan, Jasprit Bumrah will lead India in the lone Test match against England. If that happens, he will become India’s 36th Test captain and the first fast bowler to lead India after Kapil Dev after a gap of 35 years. Although there are not many instances of a fast bowler being the captain in Indian cricket’s history, but a number of foreign teams have handed the responsibility to their bowlers. We take a look at five bowlers who turned out to be excellent skippers.
Wasim Akram: Known as the ‘Sultan of Swing,’ Akram was among the most popular captains of the Pakistan cricket team. He even led the side to World Cup final in 1999 where they lost to Australia. After Imran Khan’s retirement, Akram was made the captain in both formats (Tests and ODIs). He had pretty good numbers as captain. In 25 Tests, he led Pakistan to 12 wins. His numbers are even better in ODIs, where he has a win percentage of 61.46 with 66 victories in 109 games.
Shaun Pollock: Pollock got the mantle of leading the Proteas at a critical time. Hansie Cronje had exited following the match-fixing allegations and the South African seamer had to make things right and bring back credibility. He did his best with his records also telling the same story: 14 wins in 26 Tests and 59 wins in 92 ODIs as captain.
Having been from a cricketing family, Pollock turned himself into an effective bowling all-rounder and captaincy only added to his profile. Nonetheless, he was sacked after South Africa’s poor performance at home world cup (2003).
Heath Streak: One of the most iconic Zimbabwean cricketer, Streak first got captaincy in 2000 and also led his side to a famous Test win against India before 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh. However, he resigned due to constant run ins with the Board which had affected his performance. Furthermore, he was reappointed in 2002 which continued until April 2004 after another fall out with Zimbabwe board who refused to give him a guarantee over selection.
Nonetheless, he is still the most successful Zimbabwean Test captain (4 out of 11 Test wins). Add to that, 18 ODI wins and you get a not-so-bad resume.
Imran Khan: World Cup-winning skipper of Pakistan, Imran Khan had an aura about him that mesmerized people. It was his charisma that inspired youngsters like Inzamam-Ul-Haq, Ramiz Raja to perform at an exceptional level during the 1992 World Cup and made them win the Cup despite a disastrous start. He represented Pakistan for almost 20 years, out of which he captained them for almost a decade. As captain, he led them in 48 Tests (14 wins) and 139 ODIs (75 wins), which makes him Pakistan’s most successful one-day skipper.
Kapil Dev: Unarguably, Indian cricket’s biggest icons, Kapil Dev first became captain on 1982-83 West Indies tour. Later he was also handed the reins during the 1983 World Cup which India went onto win. Following this win, his personal form worsened and Sunil Gavaskar was back as captain. However, he regained captaincy and led India in the 1987 World Cup where India reached the semi-finals and lost to England. As a result, he stepped down and never captained India again, but continued to play international cricket till 1994.
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