5 Times Fast Bowlers Became Captains For Their Country In Test Matches

There isn’t a great long history of fast bowling players becoming all-rounders at least in test cricket. But those who have represented their teams as captains, have been the very best in the business. 

With India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah announced to be India’s test captain just for the fifth and final test against England starting tomorrow, we decided to look at fast bowlers who have done so previously or are still captains.Today’s list will include fast bowling all-rounders as well who have captained their national teams in International cricket in Test matches. 

 

  1. Pat Cummins

The newest inductee into the department of fast bowling captains, is Australia’s Pat Cummins. His burden has obviously increased but at the same time, he didn’t let his performances dip at all. He has an impressive record as captain till now and has proved to be the leader of not only the bowling attack but of the whole squad. In the 7 matches which he has captained Australia till now, he has won four of them and has three draws. He has transformed Australia into a fearless side as they won their first series in Pakistan after 24 years. He is also currently leading his side in Srilanka in a three match series and are fighting to stay on top of the World Test Championship Table.

Cricket

Pat Cummins has only improved his performances since becoming captain and is striving to still do better 

2. Shaun Pollock

Shaun Pollock is one of the greatest players to have represented South Africa and took the captaincy of the side after the infamous Hansie Cronje incident. He led the side for around four years and was axed after a shambolic exit at the 2003 World Cup. But during his time as captain, he didn’t let his performances down and his stats got better during this time. He was one of the most successful bowlers from South Africa and has more than 400 test wickets to his name.

Cricket

Shaun Pollock was the first player at his time from South Africa to reach 400 test wickets

3. Imran Khan

The current Pakistan Prime Minister was not only a great leader for Pakistan but for Pakistan Cricket as well. He is the only captain to have won them the World Cup back in 1992. He was one of the best bowlers of his era and some of his stats are just mind-boggling. It was with him, that Pakistani cricket was revolutionised and the team played a fearless brand of cricket and showed no mercy towards the opponents at all. He is still one of the best players if not the best to have captained Pakistan

Cricket

Imran Khan was one of the deadliest fast bowlers that Pakistan has ever produced

4. Jason Holder

West Indies back in the day was known for producing feisty fast bowlers and there have been various all-rounders who have captained them in tests. Jason Holder is one of the best all-rounders to have played for West Indies and He became the second-youngest test captain in West Indies history and the 15th-youngest test nation overall. He had a win/loss ratio of 0.58 which is pretty decent when thinking about the lack of experience and the kind of side he had at the start of his test captaincy tenure. 

Cricket

Holder was one of the best captains in Test Cricket and ranks 4th in the list of all-time greats from West Indies

5. Kapil Dev

India has a knack of producing great captains, but there are only two who reside in the hearts of 1.5 billion people that is Kapil Dev and M.S Dhoni. Unfortunately, MS Dhoni is not a fast bowler, so we will talk about the former and the person who made cricket the unofficial national sport of India. Kapil Dev, was the guy who won us the third edition of the World Cup in 1983 and became the hero and the pillar of the side. He always had the belief in his players right till the end and his wicket taking ability was one of the best in the business back then. He captained India for 34 matches in 4 years as test captain and a win/loss ratio of 0.57 which is good considering the kind of teams India competed against then. 

Cricket

Kapil Dev has an unwanted 22 draws from his 34 match test captaincy tenure

Jasprit Bumrah becomes the 36th Indian player to represent India in tests and is the first fast bowler to do so since Kapil Dev.  He will have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and would be hoping that he guides his team through to the series victory. 

Advertisement

Latest

The new ‘Love Cloud’ collection by Victoria’s Secret deserves appreciation.

Victoria’s Secret has launched the ‘Love Cloud’ Collection that focuses on the comfort level of every woman irrespective of the background. Get to know...

Method to her Madness: Taapsee Pannu

Shoojit Sircar's Pink gave the country a glimpse of its fast losing conscience, and changed the dynamics of a power-packed subject for a fil,...

Restrictions imposed on Bheemla Nayak Prakash Raj speaks up, slams AP govt

Hyderabad Police and AP Government imposed restrictions on cinema and the movie targeted was on one of the Tollywood movies, Bheemla Nayak which is...