Five Cricketers With The Longest Career-Span In ODI Cricket

In Cricket, just like other sports, longevity is one of the parameters which is used to judge the greatness of a cricketer. And, rightly so.

One of the greatest examples of longevity is none other than Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian legend made his debut at an age of 16 and for the next 24 years, he battled mounting expectations, a truckload of injuries, and numerous other challenges that bowlers threw at him, but he still managed to come out with flying colors.

Longevity is an expression of a player’ resilience, grit, and character. It just shows you that no matter how many obstacles you may face in your journey if you have the courage and mental fortitude to battle it out, you will thrive.

Also Read- Cricketers Who Kept Their Team Ahead Of Their Family

Here’s a look at five cricketers with the longest career-span in ODI cricket-

Shoaib Malik- 19 years, 245 days- (1999-2019)

Shoaib Malik’s ODI career spanned over 19 years and given the longevity, you may be tempted to think that the all-rounder would have represented Pakistan in 3-4 World Cups easily.

But Malik’s career is a perfect example of the volatile nature of Pakistan cricket- One minute down, next minute up. Having made his debut against the West Indies way back in 1999, Shoaib Malik could feature in just two 50-over World Cups- the shambolic 2007 event where he was one of the lone shining lights and the 2019 edition where he was dropped midway through the tournament.

Malik’s last ODI game came against arch-rivals in the 2019 World Cup, and even though it did not end in the manner he would have liked, his best days in 50-over cricket came against the Men in Blue, against whom he averaged 50.

Overall, Malik featured in 287 ODIs, scoring 7534 runs at an average of 34.56, including 44 half-centuries and 9 hundreds. Besides that, he also claimed 158 wickets at an average of 39.9.

Chris Gayle- 19 years and 337 days- (1999-2019)

Only the second West Indian to rack up 10000 ODI runs, Christopher Henry Gayle enjoyed a brilliant 20-year-old career in 50-over cricket, where he bamboozler bowling attacks around the world like only he can.

The current 10-year-olds might think of Gayle as this T20 beast, who preyed and thrived on bowling attacks in franchise tournaments all over the world, but truth be told, Gayle was equally belligerent in all forms of the game.

Gayle, who represented the West Indies in 300 One-day Internationals, is the only batsman from the Caribbean islands to score a double-hundred in 50-over cricket. The Jamaican legend called time on his two-decade-old 50-over career against the same country that he started his journey (Read- India) last year. And, he finished it in the same manner in which he played throughout the 20 years- via whirlwind 41-ball 72.

Javed Miandad- 20 years and 72 days- (1975-1996)

A street-smart cricketer, who orchestrated a plethora of match-winning heists for his country, none better than the last ball six that he hit off Chetan Sharma to help Pakistan win the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup or his exploits during the triumphant 1992 World Cup campaign.

Miandad represented Pakistan in a total of 233 ODI games, scoring 7381 runs at an average of 41.47 with the help of 50 half-centuries and 8 hundreds. Miandad’s celebrated career, however, came to a tragic end as he was run-out in what proved to be his last ODI game during the 1996 Quarter-final fixture against arch-rivals India.

Sanath Jayasuriya- 21 years and 184 days- (1989-2011)

‘Matara Mauler’, ‘The beast incarnate’, ‘ The destroyer’, ‘The trendsetter’. Try using as many adjectives you want, but those words would still not do any justice to the impact that Sanath Jayasuriya made to white-ball cricket.

Jayasuriya made T20 look cool even when T20 wasn’t even a theoretical concept. His belligerence alongside fellow opener Romesh Kaluwitharana in the 1996 World Cup, gave teams around the world a template of how one should approach the first 15 overs of an ODI inning.

Jayasuriya played almost 21 years of ODI cricket in which he massacred bowling attacks around the world, scoring 13430 runs at a strike-rate of 91.22 which also included 68 half-centuries and 28 hundreds. His highest ODI score of 189 came against India in 2000. Besides scoring all those runs, Jayasuriya also claimed 323 wickets, making him the only cricketer to do a double of 10000 ODI runs and 300+ wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar- 22 years and 91 days- (1989-2012)

Of-course! Who else to take the numero-uno spot than the most successful batsman in the history of the game, Sachin Tendulkar

Tendulkar made his ODI debut as a 16-year-old wonder boy against Pakistan in 1989. And, while his first outing ended with a 2-ball duck, it kickstarted an era where the Master Blaster went to rewrite the record books on a number of occasions and defy everything that was deemed as impossible in the past.

The turning point in Sachin’s ODI career came in the year 1994 where he opened the innings for the first side for India. Tendulkar smashed a whirlwind 49-ball 82 against the Kiwis, and the rest, as they say, is history. Later that year, Sachin scored his maiden ODI hundred (in his 79th game) against Australia. His love affair with Australia continued throughout his career, one that reached its zenith in 1998 during his back-to-back tons in Sharjah.

In 2001, Sachin became the first batsman in the history of ODI cricket to scale the 10000-run barrier. And, then in 2010, he fittingly became the first batsman to score 200 in an ODI game. Sachin featured in as many as six World Cup, and though he ended up as the leading run-scorer in the tournament’s history, it was only in his last outing that he was able to fulfill his dream of winning the coveted trophy.

Sachin’s final ODI hundred (49th) came in what proved to be his penultimate 50-over game, against Bangaldesh in 2012, where he also became the first batsman to score 100 international hundreds.

Sachin called time on his career in December 2012 after having racked up as many as 18426 runs for India in 463 ODI games. His last outing, just like his maiden one, came against arch-rivals Pakistan.