5 longest-serving cricketers still playing the game today

While there are many talented cricketers who briefly dazzle at the highest level, it is the players who manage to do so for a prolonged period of time that separate themselves from the rest and establish themselves as all-time greats of the game. However, enjoying a long and illustrious career has almost become impossible in modern-day cricket due to a variety of factors. Considering the amount of analysis that is done on the strengths and weaknesses of each and every player nowadays, it is increasingly difficult to sustain your form for any length of time. In addition, the amount of international cricket that is played means that even the fittest of players are not able to carry on for more than a decade or so as the schedule eventually takes a heavy toll on their body. As of today, there are very few cricketers who made their debuts in the 1990s and are still actively involved as players. Here’s a tribute to the 5 longest-serving active cricketers today:(Note: Even though the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Virender Sehwag have fallen out of favour with their respective national teams, they have been included as they have not yet retired from the game)

#5 Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)

(Test debut: vs Australia 1999, Galle)

Rangana Herath has enjoyed the responsibility of being Sri Lanka’s premier spinner ever since Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement from Test cricket in 2010. A left-arm spinner relying on the use of subtle variations as much as prodigious spin, Herath made his Test debut way back in 1999, but he had to wait a very long time to establish himself at the highest level.

While he is extremely potent in subcontinent conditions, he has also enjoyed success in alien conditions where spinners have to work hard to achieve success. He played an integral part in Sri Lanka’s first ever Test win on South African soil, finishing up with match figures of 9 for 128 as the visitors romped to a resounding 208-run victory.

He has also been a success in the shorter formats, with his devastating spell of 5 wickets for 3 runs in a must-win game against New Zealand in the 2014 World T20 being one of the best ever in T20 cricket history.

The 37-year-old has taken 262 wickets from 59 Tests till date and with him showing no signs of slowing down with age, it should only be a matter of time before he manages to join an elite list of bowlers who have taken 300+ wickets in Test cricket.

#4 Virender Sehwag (India)

(ODI debut: vs Pakistan, 1999, Mohali)

The Nawab of Najafgarh made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1999 in the Pepsi Cup at Mohali. But his big break came on his Test debut against South Africa in 2001 when he scored a brilliant century and added 220 runs with Sachin Tendulkar for the 5th wicket.

With his flamboyant batting, Sehwag redefined the art of Test match batting, scoring at almost a run-a-ball and enabling India to put pressure on the opposition on numerous occasions.

Sehwag made history in 2004 when he scored the first triple hundred (309) ever by an Indian batsman, against Pakistan in Multan. He repeated the feat against South Africa in 2009 when he scored 319. This feat put him in an exclusive club of batsmen who have scored more than one triple hundred in Test cricket, a club consisting of Sir Don Bradman, Chris Gayle and Brian Lara.

In ODI cricket too, he has had his fair share of highs, including winning the 2011 World Cup and becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score a double century in ODI history.

Sadly, though, his reflexes have slowed down in the past couple of years and he finds himself out of the reckoning with the emphasis likely to be on youth going forward.

#3 Harbhajan Singh (India)

(Test debut: vs Australia 1998, Bangalore)

Harbhajan Singh made his Test debut against Australia at Bangalore in 1998 at the tender age of 17, making him one of the youngest Test debutants for India ever.

He drifted in and out of the side initially due to the presence of Anil Kumble and Venkatapathy Raju among others. But when Kumble got injured before the now historic series against Australia in 2001, Harbhajan managed to grab hold of his chance. He picked up a total of 32 wickets in 3 Tests and helped India emerge triumphant against an extremely strong Australian outfit by a margin of 2-1. During the course of the series, he also became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.

In the following years, he managed to establish himself alongside Kumble as part of India’s spin bowling attack, proving to be almost unstoppable with their experience and guile for batsmen around the world. Ever since Kumble’s retirement, however, his struggles have been palpable and Ravichandran Ashwin has managed to overtake him as India’s premier spinner across all three formats of the game.

However, he can be proud of the fact that he has picked up 416 Test wickets and 259 ODI wickets.

#2 Shahid Afridi (Pakistan)

(ODI debut: vs Kenya 1996, Nairobi)

The world of cricket will not see another Shahid Afridi. After all, who can match the flamboyance, the charisma, the cavalier attitude and the sheer entertainment value that Afridi provided!

Afridi made his ODI debut against Kenya in 1996 at the age of just 16, and it didn’t take long for him to make a name for himself as he smashed a 37-ball hundred against Sri Lanka in just his second ODI. The innings included a colossal 11 sixes and broke the record for the fastest century in ODI cricket at the time.

While his role in the Pakistan team was initially that of a hard-hitting batsman who bowled occasionally, his bowling has grown to such an extent in recent years that he can get into the side on the basis of his leg spin alone.

He retired from ODI cricket at the conclusion of the recent World Cup, having exited from Test cricket in 2010, and will call it quits from all formats after captaining Pakistan in the World T20 in India next year.

While it would be fair to say that he did not do justice to his ability with the bat, his overall record is up there with the very best. From 398 ODI matches, he scored 8064 runs at an average a touch under 25 and picked up 395 wickets at an economy of 4.62 with figures of 7 for 12 being his best ever.

#1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)

(Test Debut: vs England, 1994, Guyana)

Despite having an ungainly stance with his feet facing the square-leg umpire as the bowler runs in to bowl, Shivnarine Chanderpaul not only managed to survive for more than two decades but also have tremendous success. What he lacked in technique, he more than made up for with sheer grit.

Making his Test debut against England in 1994 in his hometown of Georgetown, Guyana, he showed very quickly what he was made of as he churned out a patient 62 in his very first innings. Playing alongside greats like Brian Lara, Desmond Haynes and Richie Richardson, Chanderpaul did not look out of place at all and managed to quickly cement his place in the West Indian batting line-up.

His gritty batting style complemented the flashy strokeplay of the likes of Lara and Carl Hooper, who formed the lynchpin of the batting unit during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

While the left-hander also captained the West Indies for a brief period, his biggest contribution to West Indian cricket has been keeping the fragile West Indian batting line-up together after the retirement of Lara.

In 164 Tests, he has scored 11867 runs at an average of 51.37, in addition to 8778 runs from 267 ODIs at an average close to 45.