5 oldest players who are part of the 2018 Asia Cup
The Asia Cup which was first established in 1983 will be played for the fourteenth time. The tournament was first conceived to promote goodwill Asian countries through cricket. The tournament was originally scheduled to play every two years but has its fair share of ups and downs due to political turmoil.
The biennial tournament will be back to its original format after its first T20I tournament two years ago. In a tournament of such stature, it is important that the teams have balanced sides with youth and experience. As the tournament starts on Saturday, let us take a look at the five oldest players in the tournament.
*All the ages are at the start of the tournament i.e. on 15th September 2018*
#5 Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh) - 34 years 345 days
Moshrafe Mortaza, also known as 'Narail Express,' was the first genuine fast bowler to represent Bangladesh. With the bat, he has the ability to hit the ball long and hard making him a very useful player lower down the order. Mortaza is one of the players who has been key to Bangladesh's rise in the past two years. He was also the man of the match in Bangladesh's 2007 World Cup win over India in West Indies.
Before his heroics in the 2007 tournament, he was the leading wicket-taker in ODIs with 49 wickets in the 2006 calendar year. Mortaza, from time to time, has been in and out of the due to his injury concerns but will still be a vital cog in Bangladesh success in the 2019 World Cup. With Asia Cup being the only major tournament before the prestigious tournament, Mortaza will look to contribute to the team as much as possible in what may be his final year at the Asian competition.