Top 5 oldest cricketers to take a Test wicket in India

The game of cricket is still a sport that feature a lot of young and spirited sportsmen, who have gone onto to be one of the best players in the world. The thing about sportsmen is that eventually they will have to hang up their boots once they feel that they have given enough of their time to the game. There are more than a billion people who give their lives to this sport and we cannot stop appreciating these superstars. The age between 35 to 40 is the average age at which these sportsmen have to retire from the game that has made him a household name and got him to where he is now.

There are still a certain number of players who play even after crossing their 40’s and representing their country on the biggest stage. The likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar are prime examples of players who have retired at this age. There is also the example of Chris Gayle who still played competitive cricket even when he was 40+. These individuals have proved that the age doesn’t take the class away from the player. This might be an age where the player might not be as fit and be subjected to a lot of injuries, but these players have shown a lot of determination and have prospered in the longer format.

However, this is still very rare for a bowler to be able to play above that age group as for these individuals, injuries are a part and parcel of the game. It is tough for these players especially in the sub- continent where most of the wickets might not give much movement or bounce to the pacers and will be difficult to control the turn and bounce for the spinners. The bowlers who have been able to still play at this tender age might not be at their peak as well. We have still some of these bowlers come and take wickets in the tough Indian conditions where they have to work really hard to take wickets

So here are the top 5 oldest cricketers to take a wicket in India:

5. Lala Amarnath – 41 years

Lala Amarnath was one of the best Indian all rounders to ever grace the field with his great batting and effective medium pace bowling. He had a brilliant first-class record with over 10000 runs and 400 wickets in his 186 matches. He also did not fail to impress in Test cricket as well where he became the first Indian batter to score a century for India. He showed his tremendous bowling skills in his 24 match Test career where he took 45 wickets. Amarnath retired at the age of 41 and also took a wicket in his last Test against Pakistan.

4. James Anderson- 41 years

The next person in the list is the modern-day great James Anderson who has already cemented himself as one of the best pace bowlers in the world. He has recently taken a wicket of Shubman Gill in the ongoing Test series vs India at the age of 41. Anderson has still shown his class in this Test match even in the last phase of his career. Knowing that he is a specialist bowler and still playing for the national side is something to admire. We do not know how many days does Anderson have left in his career, but he will surely go down as one of the greats of the game.

3. Vinoo Mankad- 41 years

Vinoo Mankad is not only known as the first man to run out a batter without bowling a ball, but also as one of the best all rounders for India between the 1940’s and 1950’s. He was mostly known for his batting where he was involved in one of the highest opening partnerships in Test cricket, but his handy left arm spinners were also effective in the matches. The last wicket he took was against a powerful West Indies side in his penultimate Test match at the age of 41.

2. Amir Elahi- 44 years

Amir Elahi is one of the few cricketers who has represented both India and Pakistan in Test matches, where he played in his first Test series representing the Indian team in 1947. Amir has  a really good first-class record where he has taken over 500 wickets in 125 matches with his willy leg spinners. Elahi made his Test debut at the age of 39 and could only manage to play 6 Test matches in international cricket and took his last wicket in a match against India at the age of 44 being one of the oldest cricketers to take a wicket in Indian conditions.

1. John Traicos- 45 years

John Traicos was an off spinner who was born in Egypt , but is known for representing Zimbabwe in  international cricket. Traicos did not really have the most decorated and long career in the game, but he has still cemented his name in the record books as the oldest bowler to take a wicket in India at the age of 45. One of the wickets in that 3-wicket spell was of none other than India’s legendary all rounder Kapil Dev as well. Traicos was still an economic bowler, but was unfortunately not among the wickets in his Test career with only 18 wickets in his 7 matches. However, he has still made the record books as one of the oldest players to play Test cricket for Zimbabwe.