Ramachandra Guha: Why Jasprit Bumrah looks set to become India’s finest bowler-captain yet

After Jasprit Bumrah led India to a splendid victory at the Perth Test, performing exceptionally well as bowler and as captain, I recalled a column I had written many years ago. This had made the case for Anil Kumble to lead the Indian Test team. Titled “Do bowlers make good captains?”, the column was published in The Hindu on July 26, 1998.

I was writing against the grain, seeking to combat – or at least nuance – the widespread belief that batters made the best captains. Since captaincy was far more important when a side was in the field, it was commonly held that batters would be more focused and dispassionate in making bowling changes as well as in setting fields. It was said that when bowlers led their sides, they tended either to under-bowl or over-bowl themselves, usually the latter.

The argument in favour of batter-captains was also buttressed by some historical evidence. Writing in 1998, I acknowledged that the most successful captains in Test history tended to be batters, pre-eminently Donald Bradman and Clive Lloyd, but also Len Hutton, Frank Worrell, and Allan Border (this was before the onset of Steve Waugh’s stunningly successful stint as Aussie skipper). Nonetheless, I argued, there were some...

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