Indian have begun their rescheduled test match against England at the Edgbaston ground in Birmingham. The match is a significant one for India as Jasprit Bumrah takes charge for the first time as the captain. He becomes the 36th Indian test captain and the first fast bowler for 36 year since Kapil Dev to lead India. Bumrah lead the Indian side after Rohit Sharma couldn’t recover in time after testing positive for COVID. The captaincy given to Bumrah puts him in a rare list of bowlers who have captained their side this century. Here we look at the list of bowlers who have skippered their side in this century.
Shaun Pollock – South Africa
South Africa were rocked early this millennium when reports came out about Hansie Cronje being involved in match fixing. The former Proteas skipper was banned and the onus of leading the nation fell on Shaun Pollock. The right arm pacer led his team in 26 games and picked 103 wickets. Pollock made his team one of the toughest sides who were touted as the ones to displace Australia.
Waqar Younis – Pakistan
Starting as an express fast bowler, spate of injuries and bad form meant the slingy pacer had to cut down on his pace. Once Younis got the accuracy he craved he became a different bowler. At a time when Pakistan had rolling chairs approach to its captaincy, Younis led them in 16 test matches. Although his tenure will be remembered for the 59 and 53 all out in a single against Australia. In the 16 tests he led, Younis picked 54 wickets with the ball.
Heath Streak – Zimbabwe
Streak was Zimbabwe’s best fast bowler in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, when the minnows were starting to turn world beaters. Streak became test captain 2000 and led them for next few years. The entire Robert Mugabe fiasco meant that even Streak called it quits at the peak of his powers. In 21 tests he skippered, Streak picked 56 wickets with the ball. On the captaincy front, Streak wont just 4 tests out of the 21 he led his team.
Andrew Flintoff – England
Considered the best all rounder for England since Ian Botham, the man from Lancashire was the captain in 11 tests. Generally seen as a stand in skipper, Flintoff was part of the team and leading the side which was whitewashed by Australia in 2006/07. In those 11 tests, Flintoff picked 34 wickets with the ball and was generally seen to be expensive. The weight of captaincy did weigh him down and Flintoff retired from the game in 2009.
Darren Sammy – West Indies
Sammy was an unusual pick for the leadership role when he was given charge of the West Indian team. Sammy though turned the staggering Caribbeans around and pumped new life into them. Sammy picked 57 wickets from the 30 test matches he was the captain.
Jason Holder – West Indies
The 6 foot 8 man from Barbados was seen as one who took the test cricket to the next level for the Caribbeans. With the bat, holder was a revelation but it was his bowling which came off age. While he may not have the pace, Holder due to his height could prize out the batters. In 37 tests as skipper, Holder picked 100 wickets with the ball with 7 five wicket hauls.
Suranga Lakmal – Sri Lanka
Lakmal retired from the game just a few months ago, but the right arm pacer has led his team in 5 test. Surprisingly, Sri Lanka won 3 tests out of 5 that Lakmal led and in those games he picked a mere 9 wickets with the ball.
Pat Cummins – Australia
The ugly departure of Tim Paine after a scandal meant that Australia needed a new test captain. In walked Pat Cummins and has done an admirable job, beginning with a Ashes series win. This was followed by the series win in Pakistan, a country they were touring for the first in 23 test. So far, Cummins had led in 8 tests and picked 34 wickets with the ball with 2 wicket hauls.
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