5 International Cricketers Who Made their Debut After the Age 26
Though we always heard there is no perfect age to start anything new and have a successful career. At the age of 65 years, Colonel Harland David Sanders started KFC, and he died wealthy and legendary. It does apply to sports as well until athleticism comes into power.
Cricket is the most famous sport next to soccer, the most praised sports expect the players to start early as they have more strength and power to undergo extensive training and pressure to polish them to be a better player in their later age.
The average age of cricket players who started their career is as late as 20–21 years. But, certain cricket players started their career after 25 or 30 or even 40’s. Here are five cricket players who began their career late but did remarkable performances:
1. Misbah-Ul-Haq
Country: Pakistan
Debut Age: 26
Misbah-Ul-Haq, the Pakistani cricket player, struggles to be in the team in the initial days, but he is known for his remarkable performance as the team captain. At the age of 26 in 2001, Misbah made his appearance and performed for his country. But he couldn’t perform well; thus, it caused his exit from the team.
His dedication to cricket and hard work gave him a second chance to play for his country, and he delivered a brilliant performance. ICC World T20–2007 Misbah was the leading run-scorer for his team, and it was the turning point of his life. Due to his remarkable performance, the Pakistan team was in the finals — ICC World T20. Though Pakistan lost the finals, Misbah was remembered as the best player of the team and promoted as Vice-Captain of the team in 2008.
Misbah never gives up on doing better every time; despite several matches, his performance was criticized. Nevertheless, the Pakistan team won numerous cricket matches under Misbah’s captaincy.
Even though he started his career late, and the journey of being a player wasn’t smooth, Misbah’s devotion towards cricket makes him famous. Currently, Misbah is the head coach of the Pakistan national team.
2. Rangana Herath
Country: Sri Lanka
Debut Age: 26
The famous Sri Lankan left-hand spin-bowler Rangana Herath started his career at the age of 26. In 1999, Rangana made his test debut, and till 2008, he played 14 tests only. In 2009, Rangana pulled up a fantastic win 4 for 15 against Pakistan, making it remarkable.
When Muttiah Muralitharan, the former Srilankan bowler and one of the most talented spinners in cricket history, took more than 500 ODI wickets and 800 test wickets, retired in 2010, Rangana was promoted as the leaning spin-bowler of the team.
In 2011 SSC, during the match against Australia, he took 7 wickets in 52 overs. Rangana’s relentless playing technique adding more best innings count, and in 2014, World T20 Rangana helped the Sri Lankan team to enter the semi-finals by 5–3 against New Zealand, and later Sri Lanka won the match. In 2018, Rangana took Wasim Akram’s wicket in test cricket and became the leading left-arm bowler.
Currently, Rangana is the Bangladesh National Cricket Team spin bowling consultant appointed by BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board).
Also See: 10 Best Australian Cricket Bowlers In History
3. Sanjay Bangar
Country: India
Debut age: 29 years
Sanjay Bangar, one of the all-rounder cricket players for the Indian team, is mainly known for his incredible innings at the test match in 2002 against England. In 236 balls, he scored 68 runs in partnership with one of India’s most outstanding cricketers, Rahul Dravid. As a result, India scored 628 won by 46 runs.
Sanjay Bangar was the only cricketer alongside Vijay Hazare, who got 200 wickets and 6000 runs in the Ranji Trophy 2001–02 season. In the 2014 IPL match, under Sanjay’s tenure, he helped the Kings XI Punjab qualify for the finals, and it was one of the best competitions.
Till his retirement in 2013, Sanjay played 27 matches, internationally representing the Indian team — 15 ODI matches and 12 Test matches. Currently, Sanjay is appointed as the Indian team batting coach.
4. Kedar Jadhav
Country: India
Debut Age: 29 years
Kedar Jadav made his debut in the 2014 ODI — India vs. Sri Lanka in Ranchi, and per inning, he maintained a batting score of 42.09 runs. He was 29 years when he made his debut and became popular due to his different batting style. Though his height is short compared to other players, his hitting ability is the most powerful.
After his successful stint in IPL with the Delhi team in 2016, Kedar was chosen by the Bangalore team. After two years of playing for Bangalore, he made a jump and joined the Chennai team in 2018. Unfortunately, he caught up in a hamstring injury in 2018, which resulted in him missing many matches. The following year, he played for Mumbai FC — the Yellow Brigade, but he couldn’t perform well due to his injury. Despite his injury, he never gave up his training session.
Kedar played outstanding innings and was much praised for his performance along with Dhoni during World Cup 2019. Team Hyderabad selected Kedar in an auction for INR 2 crores before IPL 2021.
Also See: 10 Best Australian Cricket Wicketkeepers in History
5. Michael Hussey
Country: Australia
Debut Age: 30
Michael Hussey, best known as “Mr. Cricket,” is the Australian left-hand batsman who made his debut late at 30 years in 2005. His ability to not get distracted easily is one of his strengths that makes him one of the best players on the Australian cricket team, though he has faced a lot of struggle to be in the team.
Michael became the fastest player that scores 1000 in test runs in 166 days. Things didn’t last long for him in 2008–09 due to his different playing style, taking every game safe-side without pulling off fiercely. But Michael’s outstanding performance in the field helped Australia to enter World T20–2010 finals.
Michael also played a vital role in winning the crown of Champions League and IPL — Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and winning other IPL matches in the following year.
So far, Michael has played 79 tests, scored 6235 runs, performed in 185 ODIs, scored 5000 runs.
Conclusion:
So far in cricket history, there are numerous other cricket players globally who commenced their cricket career late but achieved success and never look back. This is only possible because, along with playing under pressure, they practice a lot — no matter whether it’s 50 degrees of scorching heat or minus degrees, push themselves to be better players every day, and are stubborn to be successful in cricket.
Main Image Source: Pixabay
Also See: 10 Best Sports Commentators in Australia
