Top five oldest cricketers to play in ICC World Cup 2019

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Top five oldest cricketers to play in ICC World Cup 2019

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The 10-nation ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 begins on May 30 in England and Wales, and all teams are geared up to give their best performance in the mega event.

Here’s a look at the top five oldest cricketers who will feature in the World Cup:

Imran Tahir, South Africa

Imran Tahir is a Pakistan-born cricketer who plays for South Africa. He bowls legbreak googly and is the fastest South African to reach 100 ODI wickets in just 58 games. He was also the first bowler to take seven wickets in an ODI for South Africa.

Imran Tahir was the fourth South African to take an ODI hat-trick. In March 2019, he announced to retire from ODI cricket following the World Cup 2019.

Full name: Mohammad Imran Tahir
Born: March 27, 1979, Lahore, Punjab
Current age: 40 years 54 days
Playing role: Bowler
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Legbreak googly

Chris Gayle, West Indies

Known as the ‘Universe Boss,’ Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle plays international cricketer for West Indies. He is regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen, and became the fourth cricketer to hit a double century in ODIs [215 against Zimbabwe].

He is the only player with a triple century in Tests, double century in ODIs and a century in T20Is. On 18 February 2019, he announced that he would take retirement from ODI cricket after the World Cup 2019.

Full name: Christopher Henry Gayle
Born: September 21, 1979, Kingston, Jamaica
Current age: 39 years 241 days
Playing role: All-rounder
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan

Mohammad Hafeez – the ‘Professor’ – plays for Pakistan and is regarded as one of the best all-rounders in the world. He has been ranked as the top all-rounder in the limited overs formats’ rankings on numerous occasions.

In December 2013, Mohammad Hafeez became the second batsman after Zaheer Abbas to score 3 centuries in an ODI series after registering three tons against Sri Lanka.

Full name: Mohammad Hafeez
Born: October 17, 1980, Sargodha, Punjab
Current age: 38 years 215 days
Playing role: All-rounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

MS Dhoni, India

MS Dhoni is known as one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket, one of the best wicket-keepers and captains in the world cricket. India won the ICC T20I World Cup 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 under his leadership.

Full name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born: July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand)
Current age: 37 years 317 days
Playing role: Wicketkeeper batsman
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm medium

Shoaib Malik, Pakistan

Shoaib Malik has over 7000 ODI runs and over 150 ODI wickets to his name. He was declared the second best all-rounder in the rankings in 2008. Malik has led Pakistan on various occasions.

The veteran has also let his intentions known of not continuing ODI cricket after the World Cup 2019, but has not made any formal announcement yet.

Full name: Shoaib Malik
Born: February 1, 1982, Sialkot, Punjab
Current age: 37 years 108 days
Playing role: Middle-order batsman, all-rounder
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak 

Story by: Hassan Raza