5 cricketers who had the longest international career in Indian cricket history
Every sportsperson wants to have a long international career representing his/her country. Each one wants to contribute for as long as possible. However, all that depends primarily on the fitness and form of the player.
If the player remains injury-free and can consistently contribute to the success of the team, he can have a long career. But it is difficult to stay injury-free in a sport like cricket for a long time. There are a few niggles here and there which will keep the player out for some time at least.
But there have been players who have had a long career despite all the injury issues. And there are many Indian cricketers who’ve had a long career. Hence, we look at 5 cricketers who had the longest international career in Indian cricket history.
Note – Players who played before 1947 have not been considered since a lot of playing years were lost due to the war.
#5 Anil Kumble (April 1990 – October 2008)
Anil Kumble is probably one of the best spinners to have played for India in the history of the game. He was a genuine match-winner.
Having made his international debut in 1990 at the age of 19 and impressed everyone in his early days. He was tall and unorthodox as a leg-spinner. He was never a big turner of the ball, but he used to extract bounce from almost any surface. His accuracy was his strength and he seldom gave the batsmen anything to work with. Nicknamed as ‘Jumbo’, he was every captain’s go-to bowler.
In 1999, he became the second bowler after Jim Laker to take 10 wickets in a Test innings when he took 10/74 against Pakistan in Delhi. Not only at home, Kumble was a force to reckon even overseas. Out of his 619 Test wickets, he has taken 269 of those away from home.
His exploits in ODI cricket are superb as well. In 271 games, he has 337 wickets to his name. He was also made the captain of the Indian Test team when Rahul Dravid stepped down after the 2007 World debacle (during which Kumble retired from ODI cricket). He was the captain for a year before constant back issues forced him to retire from international cricket.
In 2008, Kumble’s glorious 18-year career came to an end as he finished with 955 wickets in international cricket.