Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Two pacers as captains -- a rare occurrence

Perth: To see a fast bowler captain a side is a rare occurrence in international cricket. But to see two fast bowlers don skippers' hats in the same match is a rarer phenomenon.

At the sunkissed Perth Stadium on Friday, Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah, two premier fast bowlers in the world today, walked out together to pose with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as captains of Australia, the challengers to the trophy, and holders India respectively.

Normalcy would be restored once Rohit Sharma, on a paternity break, returns to lead India in the Adelaide Test but for a temporary period we will witness two quicks not only put their bowling skills to test on one of the fastest wickets, if not the fastest, in the world but also test each other in the battle of wits.

"Great to see (two fast bowlers as captains), it should happen more," said Cummins on the eve of the BGT opener here. "The New Zealand series last year was good with Timmy (Tim) Southee as captain as well. I don't think it really changes too much again, but it's one of those rare things. (I am) Looking forward to seeing, hopefully from the changeroom, how he (Bumrah) goes about his work out there. But as a fan of fast bowling, it's always good to see."

Bumrah, who has led only once before in a Test against England at Edgbaston, echoed the same sentiments.

"I wish that for everyone because I am one of the advocates for fast bowlers (to be named captains)," said India's stand-in skipper when asked if fast bowlers are under utilised as captains. 

Historically, the persons who matter have always looked at bowlers, particularly of the faster variety, not so favourably for captain's role. The period which saw the careers of Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham overlap was perhaps the best phase for fast bowlers being considered for leadership roles. All three aforementioned led their respective countries with distinction but it's also a fact that during their prime, they could all walk into any international side as batters alone. 

The appointments of West Indies' Courtney Walsh, Pakistan's Wasim Akram and then Waqar Younis, Zimbabwe's Heath Streak, and Bangladesh's Mashrafe Mortaza are significant moments for the community of fast bowlers.     

"I don't know what has happened in the past but I obviously have been a fan of bowlers and fast bowling, that is why I picked up being a bowler. I obviously feel that physically it's a lot more draining to bowl, but tactically bowlers are quite smart as well. It's not like they aren't aware of where we're heading. So obviously if more leaders and more people coming in can contribute there's no better feeling.

"There's many examples in the past, in Australia as well. Pat (Cummins) has done a phenomenal job, he's got a lot of success. So there's a lot of (role) models you can follow, you could take inspiration from the past, a lot of players who have done really well for India – Kapil Dev did a fabulous job, and a lot of other captains are there as well. Hopefully it's the start of a new tradition and many more players will follow that," offered Bumrah.  

One of the complaints, however wrong the perception may be, against bowlers has been that they either overbowl or underbowl themselves when they become captain.  

"I think I look at it in a different manner," began Bumrah while dismissing the charge. "I can manage myself the best when I am the captain because I know when I am fresh, when I have to push myself and I know when I have to take extra responsibility. Obviously there are different challenges but there are advantages as well, and I look at the advantage that I understand bowling so you understand when the wicket is changing, what changes you have to make, what field setting are good at this moment and obviously bowlers do a lot more research and data driven as well than batters because that’s how the game is headed. So I look at the positives more than the negatives. Yes there will be challenges and you want to be tested, and you want to have challenges. You gain experience by playing, nobody is born with experience."