Jasprit Bumrah joins Kapil Dev in THIS elite list after becoming captain for 5th Test vs ENG

Source: Twitter

Jasprit Bumrah will write history when he steps on the field in the fifth and last Test vs England at Edgbaston on July 1. The Indian pacer will not just lead the bowling attack but will be captaining the team as well. With captain Rohit Sharma down with Covid-19, Bumrah has been named as skipper for the fifth Test by BCCI selectors. It is an important Test for India with India leading the series 2-1. KL Rahul, Indian vice-captain, is also not with the team as he is healing his groin injury. He recently went under the knife for his injury and will take some time to return. Rishabh Pant was named the vice-captain for 5th Test and will play the second-in command to Bumrah. 

With Bumrah becoming captain, Indian cricket will see a big change. He will be the first pace bowling captain from India in 35 years. Before him, only one pacer captained India and he was none other than the legendary Kapil Dev. In some sense, Bumrah is the first pure fast bowler to captain India in Test as Kapil was an all-rounder.  Kapils's last game as captain was in 1987 when he led India vs Kapil Dev vs England in an ODI.

NEWS _ - @Jaspritbumrah93 to lead #TeamIndia in the fifth Test Match against England.@RishabhPant17 will be the vice-captain for the match.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/ueWXfOMz1L — BCCI (@BCCI) June 30, 2022

Not to forget, Bumrah has no captaincy experience as he never led India in the past. But so did MS Dhoni, who straightaway became a captain at a ICC event: The T20 World Cup. Bumrah played a big role in India winning two out of the four Tests vs England last year. He bagged 18 wickets in 4 Tests and was only behind England's Ollie Robinson in the list of highest wickettakers in the series. In 29 Tests that Bumrah has played so far, he has taken 123 wickets with best innings figure of 6 for 27. He also hs 8 five-wicket hauls to his name. 

India will however surely miss the leadership of Rohit Sharma, who was influential last year in India's campaign, scoring 368 runs in 4 Tests including a hundred. He batted with an average of 52.57. But India will have do without him in order to write history in the Test series.