7 players who enjoyed a great run of form after turning 35
Time is a fickle mistress, they say. In sport, time is as slippery as a rattlesnake, slithering away, painfully, one day at a time. In case of cricketers, it is one game at a time, or sometimes, one season at a time.Many a great players smelt the earth, as age caught up with them, their arrogance grinded away in the wheels of time, their reflexes numbed with the heroin of grey hair. Runs stop flowing, wickets stop coming. Batsmen feel the ball whizzing more often past them.Bowlers feel the fizz disappearing quickly more often. Sport is cruel to aging greats. Their genius fades with time and their sublime skills look like out of tune instruments. Some walk away into the twilight, some are nudged into it by their Boards and even fans.That is why it is worth celebrating that rare club of sportsmen who battled age with experience and wisdom and ended on a high, quite literally. These were sportsmen who achieved phenomenal numbers after turning 35, turning back the clock, making the world and youth sit up and take notice, almost declaring, class is permanent.Here we take a look at seven outstanding ODI players who breezed past 35 without a break in their performances. Mind you, there are many who haven't made the list, like Imran Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Zaheer Abbas, Sunil Gavaskar, Brad Hogg and Gordon Greenidge, although these legends of the game are not way too far behind!
#7 Misbah-ul-Haq
A dasher early on, Misbah resurrected his career, almost against the tide of time, standing like a Hercules amidst the ruins of Pakistan cricket and warring season after season to bring it back to its glory days.
Misbah led Pakistan, by example, through some of its toughest years in international cricket, rock solid in victory, calm in defeats and sincere in his attempts. The man who led Pakistan to the 2011 World Cup semi-final, Misbah played 111 out of his 162 ODIs after turning 35, hitting 34 out of his 42 fifties during that time period.
Known for his calm head, Misbah who became leader of the side at 36, was one of the fittest players in the team, nurturing a young band of cricketers over half a decade leaving Pakistan a much better side.
He mentored younger players like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik and Ahmed Shehzad, ensuring the ODI side is stronger for his leadership. Also, it was a sign of his experience that Misbah managed 21 out of his 31 not-outs after turning 35.