Remembering India's Bowling Captains

It is often said that cricket is a batsman’s game. Since the sport of cricket spread to the English colonies, along with the passion, what was also infused was the aristrocatic legacy of the game.

The honour and pride associated with holding the bat, and the elitist connotations attached to the very act itself have been passed down the generations. From the colonial days, when ‘lowly Brown servants’ were ordered to bowl to their white Sahibs, to the gully cricket days where kids fought on a daily basis to get the opportunity to bat, the one who wields the bat has always been elevated to higher pedestals.

These complicit prejudices have also been reflected in the selection of the team captain over the years. Most of India’s cricket captains, in both Test and ODI, have been batsmen. Apart from Kapil Dev, all of the other widely adored and longest serving captains have been, by default, batsmen.

Here is an ode to the bowling captains of Indian cricket.

1. Ghulam Ahmed – India’s first bowling captain, Ghulam Ahmed was an offspiner from Hyderabad. His right arm off-break bowling was described by Wisden as “highest world class” on his days. He grabbed a total of 68 wickets in the 22 Tests he played for India, apart from the 407 wickets in 98 First class matches.

As the first bowling captain, he led India to a draw against New Zealand in 1956.

Post retirement, he served as the manager for Indian Team on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1967-68, and as the BCCI secretary for many years.

Ahmed, who passed away in 1998, was the uncle of Pakistani captain Asif Iqbal, and great uncle of ace Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

Test

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
3	0	2	1

2. Srinivas Venkatraghavan –

Venkataraghavan led India in two World Cups

Part of the Indian spin quartet of Prasanna, Bishen Bedi, Chandrashekhar, and himself, Venkatraghavan has the 3rd longest Test career span for in Indian cricket after Sachin Tendulkar and Lala Amarnath.

Venkat was chosen to lead India in the first two World cups, and captained India in two test series. The Padmashri awardee also captained Tamil Nadu and South Zone in the domestic circuit for more than a decade, and continued his tryst with cricket after retirement in the capacity of an administrator and umpire. He was a part of the inaugural ICC Elite Panel constituted for the top 8 international umpires.

Test

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
5	0	2	3

ODI

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
7	1	6	0

3. Bishen Singh Bedi –

Bishan Bedi had a short but eventful stint as captain

A slow, left-arm orthodox spinner, Bedi had taken the domestic circuit by storm. He became the first bowling captain to lead India to win, which came against the West Indies in Port-of-Spain. The 2-0 whitewash against New Zealand also came under his leadership.

However, these successive victories were followed by a dry spell, and consequently Gavaskar was appointed as the new captain. Bedi’s artistry with the ball continued and he ended up with 266 test wickets from 67 matches, and 1560 first class wickets – the highest for any Indian.

Test

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
22	6	11	5

ODI

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
4	1	3	0

4. Kapil Dev –

Kapil Dev led India through a very successful time in ODIs

Undoubtedly one of India’s most loved captains, Kapil Dev brought in a breath of fresh air to Indian cricket. Considered to be India’s ‘first genuine fast bowler’, the Haryana Hurricane is still regarded as one of the finest all-rounders the sub-continent has ever produced, along with his arch-rival Imran Khan. The image of the teary-eyed Kapil Dev carrying the World Cup from Lord’s balcony is etched vividly in every Indian’s mind, and the Indian team of 1984, also known as “Kapil’s Devils” is credited to ignite the cricket craze in India on a scale that was never seen before.

He is the only player in the history of the game to amass 5,000 runs and grab 400 wickets in tests. His long list of accolades includes Padma Bhushan, ICC Hall of Fame and an honourary position in the Indian Army. With a respectable win percentage of 54.16% in ODIs, Kapil proved his credentials as a captain, but his tryst with coaching wasn’t as successful as his captaincy.

Test

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
34	4	7	23

ODI

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
74	39	33	0

5. Ravi Shashtri –

Shastri captained the team in only 1 Test, and won one.

Built in the same swashbuckling mold as Kapil Dev, Shastri started off as a left-arm spinner, but gradually transformed into a batting all-rounder. From a tail-ender, he moved his way up the order to become the opening batsman for India.

The dashing 6”3 all-rounder was in the purple patch of his career during the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. India won the tournament and Shastri was declared ‘Champion of Champions (Man of the Series)’, for which he won an Audi 100. He continued his role of the Vice captain after Vengasarkar replaced Kapil Dev, but got the opportunity to lead India in a test when Vengasarkar fractured his arm. Similarly, he captained India in two ODI series, when Vengasarkar was banned by the BCCI for six months for writing a newspaper column.

Test

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
1	1	-	-

ODI

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
11	4	7	0

6. Anil Kumble –Taking over the reigns from Rahul Dravid, Kumble kept the old-school charm intact. Effortlessly stylish with his bowling and on-field demeanor, Kumble never stepped out for the toss without his Team India blazer, no matter how hot it was. Even though he possessed all the traits needed for a good captain, his calm approach and easy going attitude couldn’t translate into many wins because of the transition period Indian cricket was going through at the time of his captaincy. Jumbo proved his mettle as a captain when he led RCB to the finals of the IPL 2008, and retired with 619 test wickets, only behind Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

A Padmashri recipient and member of the ICC Hall of Fame, the right arm spinner was appointed as the coach of the Indian Team in 2016.

Test

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
14	3	5	6

ODI

Matches	Won	Lost	Draw
1	1	-	-