5 players who debuted before Ross Taylor and have not retired yet

Former New Zealand captain Ross Taylor has announced that he will quit all forms of cricket after the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League series against the Netherlands in April of 2022.

Taylor is a veteran of 110 Test matches, 233 ODIs and 102 T20Is. He won the ICC World Test Championship with New Zealand earlier this year while in 2015 and 2019, he reached the Cricket World Cup final as part of the Black Caps squad.

The 37-year-old from Wellington made his international debut for New Zealand in an ODI against West Indies on March 1, 2006 at McLean Park. With Ross Taylor set to retire soon, we look at the five players who made their international debuts before him and have not retired yet.

#1 Dinesh Karthik – Played in Cricket World Cup 2019 with Ross Taylor

Indian wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik has not played international cricket since the 2019 World Cup. His last appearance for India came in the semi-final match against New Zealand, where Ross Taylor scored a match-winning fifty.

Karthik made his debut in an ODI against England on April 5, 2004. He still hopes to make a comeback to the Indian team.

#2 Amit Mishra

Another Indian player to appear on the list is Amit Mishra. The leg-spinner made his international debut against Bangladesh on April 13, 2003, almost three years before Ross Taylor started his career.

Mishra has played 22 Tests, 36 ODIs and 10 T20Is for India. He played his last international game in 2017 but is yet to hang up his boots.

#3 Chris Gayle – Made his debut when Ross Taylor was a teenager

Chris Gayle made his ODI debut against India back in 1999 when Ross Taylor was not even an adult. While Taylor is set to retire soon, Gayle is still going strong at the age of 42.

He played in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 for the West Indies. Gayle’s teammate Dwayne Bravo retired from international cricket after the T20 World Cup but Gayle tweeted that he wasn’t leaving the team.

#4 Sreesanth

Indian fast bowler Sreesanth has not played for India since the 2011 tour of England. The right-arm pacer made his return to domestic cricket last year and aims to play in the 2023 Cricket World Cup for India.

Sreesanth started his international career against Sri Lanka in 2005. It will be interesting to see if he can play for India in the World Cup 18 years after his first ODI game.

#5 Shoaib Malik – Made his debut when Ross Taylor was a teenager

Like Chris Gayle, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik made his international debut in 1999. So far, he has played 35 Tests, 287 ODIs and 124 T20Is for the Men in Green.

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The 39-year-old recently informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that he has no plans of retiring from T20I cricket any time soon.