When Jasprit Bumrah wore the captain’s hat for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Perth, he joined a rare breed of fast bowler-captains. It was not his first Test as Indian captain, but in his second outing leading the team the ace pacer pulled off a singular feat – slaying the mighty Aussies in their layer.
India recorded a dominant 295-run win in the first Test after dismissing Australia for 238 in their second innings on day four at Perth on Monday. With the thumping win, India lead the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-0.
Bumrah, who is number three in the International Cricket Council’s men’s Test bowler ranking, led from the front. He was adjudged man of the match for his 8-wicket haul. Rohit Sharma will replace him from the second Test match, but Boom Boom Bumrah has already made his mark as captain.
The Telegraph Online compiles a list of pace bowlers who have been captains in Test cricket and how they stack up in their performances.
Note: The list omits all-rounders – such as Imran Khan, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Shaun Pollock – and focuses on just pace bowlers.
The sultan of swing, who could wield the willow in some crunch situations, does not qualify as an all-rounder in our book. Hence, he figures.
Wasim Akram captained the Pakistan side in Test matches from 1993 to 1999. He led the side for 25 Test matches, won 12 and lost eight of them, with a win percentage of 48. This record ranks him among the top five Test captains of Pakistan.
In Tests as captain, he took 107 wickets at an average of 23.35, with three 5-wicket hauls and a best of 6/48.
Courtney Walsh, who was nicknamed Duracell by fans for his ability to bowl long spells, captained the West Indies squad for 22 Test matches from 1994 to 1997.
As captain, Walsh holds the record of having the best figures of 13 wickets for 55 runs in a Test against New Zealand in 1995 at Wellington.
Captain Walsh took 85 wickets at an average of 25.7, with three 7-wicket hauls and a best of 7/37.
Waqar Younis, known as the toe crusher for his deadly yorkers, captained the Pakistan Test cricket team during different times from 1993 to 2003. He captained the team for 17 matches, won 10 of them and lost seven.
According to ESPN CricInfo, he took 67 wickets at an average of 23.4, with three 5-wicket hauls and a best of 7/91 as captain.
The Aussie pace bowler, who is also the captain for the side in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been captain for the Test squad from 2021. As captain in 29 Test matches, he has won 17 and lost seven.
Cummins features in the top 10 captains for Australia in Test matches.
He has taken 108 wickets at an average of 24.7, with seven 5-wicket hauls and a best of 6/91 as captain.
Bumrah has captained India in two Test matches between 2022 and 2024, including the Perth Test that concluded with India’s win on Monday. In 2022, he led India in a Test against England in Birmingham. India had lost that match.
He has taken 13 wickets at an average of 16.4, with two five-wicket hauls and a best of 8/72 as a captain.