If all goes according to plan, Jasprit Bumrah will lead India in the one-off Test against England. If that happens, he will become India’s 36th Test captain and the first fast bowler after Kapil Dev to lead India after a gap of 35 years. Although there are not many examples of a fast bowler being the captain in the history of Indian cricket, many foreign teams have delegated the responsibility to their bowlers. We take a look at five bowlers who proved to be excellent captains.
Wasim Akram: Akram, popularly known as the ‘Sultan of Swing’, was one of the most popular captains of the Pakistan cricket team. He also led the team to the World Cup final in 1999 where they lost to Australia. After the retirement of Imran Khan, Akram was made the captain in both the formats (Test and ODI). He had very good numbers as a captain. He led Pakistan to 12 victories in 25 Tests. His numbers are even better in ODIs, where he has a win percentage of 61.46 with 66 wins from 109 matches.
Sean Pollock: Pollock got the spell to lead the Proteas at a crucial time. Hansie Cronje was out after allegations of match-fixing and the South African seamer had to set things right and bring credibility back. He did his best with his record and told the same story: 14 wins in 26 Tests and 59 wins in 92 ODIs as captain.
Being from a cricketing family, Pollock transformed himself into an effective bowling all-rounder and the captaincy only added to his profile. However, he was sacked after South Africa’s poor performance in the domestic World Cup (2003).
Heath Streak: One of the most iconic Zimbabwean cricketers, Streak first got the captaincy in 2000 and led his side to a famous Test victory against India before a 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh. However, he resigned due to frequent conflicts with the board, which affected his performance. In addition, he was re-appointed in 2002, which continued until April 2004 after another fall with the Zimbabwe board, which refused to guarantee him on selection.
Nonetheless, he is still Zimbabwe’s most successful Test captain (4 out of 11 Test victories). Add to that, 18 ODI victories and you get a not so bad resume.
Imran Khan: There was an aura about Pakistan’s World Cup winning captain, Imran Khan that left people spellbound. 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 propelled them to win the cup despite a disastrous start. He represented Pakistan for almost 20 years, of which he captained them for almost a decade. As captain, he led them in 48 Tests (14 wins) and 139 ODIs (75 wins), making him Pakistan’s most successful ODI captain.
Kapil Dev: Unquestionably, the biggest icon of Indian cricket, Kapil Dev became the captain for the first time on the 1982–83 tour of West Indies. He was later handed over the reins during the 1983 World Cup, which India won. After this victory his personal form deteriorated and Sunil Gavaskar returned as captain. However, he regained the captaincy and led India to 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 until 1994.
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos And cricket score Here