4 players from the 1990s who are still playing international cricket

Alastair Cook, the stalwart of English cricket, hung his boots after the series against India. The English man debuted in 2006 and left us speechless with his cricketing abilities on numerous occasions.

With him gone, there are only a handful of active cricketers like Dhoni and Karthik who debuted in the early 2000s. The longevity of a cricketer's career has taken a serious toll in recent years. This is thoroughly understandable given the rise of the T20 format and various T20 leagues mushrooming in different parts of the world.

A career extending beyond ten years can be considered Sachinesque in the modern era.

So, it makes it all the more astonishing that these cricketers who debuted in the 1990s are still playing international cricket.

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#4 Shoaib Malik

Malik started as a spinner for Pakistan

Shoaib Malik debuted as a 17-year-old against West Indies in 1999. He came into the squad purely as a spinner and was at number eleven in the batting chart. He went on to become a jack of all trades as his batting got due recognition when he was promoted up the order.

The man from Sialkot has batted in all positions from one to ten and as years went by, he went on to become a linchpin in the Pakistan batting unit.

Having picked up 156 ODI wickets, Malik was more than a part-timer and could frustrate the batsman with his precision bowling. Captaincy was also one of the many roles Malik took up for Pakistan.

He still continues to be very much in the scheme of things in both ODIs and T20Is and will play a vital role in Pakistan's quest for World Cup glory next year.

#3 Rangana Herath

Herath became Sri Lanka's premier spinner after Murali's departure

Not many would remember a certain Rangana Herath debuting against Australia way back in 1999. Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka's bowling mainstay for so many years apparently shadowed a left-arm finger spinner in Rangana Herath.

The 40-year-old made intermittent appearances in 2004, 2008 and, 2010, but could not cement a spot in the Test side until Murali called it a day.

Herath is now Sri Lanka's premier spinner in Tests and has featured in 92 of them accounting for 430 wickets. With 34 five-wicket and nine ten-wicket hauls, Herath has already etched his name in Sri Lanka's history books.

#2 Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle has scored two triple centuries in his Test career

The T20 cricket supremo made his international debut much before his favorite format was even born. He is the Sachin Tendulkar of T20 cricket and holds almost all the records available in the miniature format.

His debut against the Indians in 1999 didn't go to plan as he was sent back to the pavilion for just 1 run. He was far from over, though, piling upwards of 7000 runs in both Tests and ODIs.

You will be forgiven to misjudge Gayle's worth in whites especially after his dominance in white ball cricket. He is one of the four batsmen to score two triple centuries. Be it his dwindling fitness or change in interests, Gayle no longer plays Tests.

He has been giving sporadic appearances in ODIs and T20Is of late and the 2019 Cricket World Cup might well draw curtains on his international career.

#1 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan became the first Indian to pick up a hat-trick

The feisty offie was prone to making headlines for his exploits on and off the cricket field since debuting in 1998. He gained worldwide attention during the home series against Australia when he spun a web collecting 32 wickets in 3 Tests which also included a hat-trick.

He formed a spin duo with Anil Kumble in Tests and worked his way up in ODIs becoming India's first choice spinner.

Since 2012, his place in the side had always been in jeopardy with Ashwin and Jadeja forming an alliance in Tests and options inundating in the ODI and T20I circuit. Bhajji's last international appearance came back in 2016 in a T20 fixture against UAE.

With his continued presence in the IPL, the 38-year-old must be hoping to make a comeback to the T20I side and probably bid farewell at the 2020 World T20 in Australia.