5 cricketers who started late but performed extremely well: Boards often look at youngsters as potential superstars of the future and sometimes overlook those who are considered experienced in domestic cricket but are too old to make their international debut.
Giving preference to young players is justifiable in itself, but selecting them while excluding older players with domestic form just because of their age is unfair.
There are some cricketers who have found themselves in the national team despite being close to 30 and some who even made their international debut when they were considered to be on the 'wrong side of 30'.
Here we look at 5 such players who entered the international arena late but took it by storm:
Michael Hussey is always talked about as a late bloomer, and an inspiration to those who worked hard in domestic cricket but were unable to make it into their national side. Making his Australia debut at the age of 30, Hussey became a legend of the game and earned the nickname Mr Cricket.
He scored over 12000 runs in 79 Tests, 185 ODIs and 38 T20Is, forming the backbone of the Australian middle-order and being part of some of their most famous victories. He also made his mark in the IPL, winning the Orange Cap in 2013 while batting for CSK Hussey.
Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav was being ignored by the national selectors for a long time despite consistently performing well at the domestic level and in the IPL. It took three dominating seasons in the IPL in 2018, 2019 and 2020, along with a mountain of runs for Mumbai in domestic cricket and SKY broke down the door for the selectors.
He is now the first-choice batsman in India's T20I squad and is making a strong case for a place in the ODI XI as well. In 14 T20Is, Suryakumar averages 39 and has struck at an impressive strike rate of 165.
saeed ajmal
Saeed Ajmal at his best was unplayable off the pitch, his variations unmistakable off the arm. Given his immediate success for Pakistan, it was surprising he didn't make his international debut until the age of 31.
He played a key role in Pakistan's 2009 T20 World Cup win and soon owned the Test arena. Ajmal enjoyed success for most of his career- between 2008 and 2015, taking 178 Test wickets at an average of 28 and 184 ODI wickets at 22. However, his career saw a sudden downfall when he was reported for illegal action in 2014 and found it difficult to maintain his dominance.
Ryan Harris
Ryan Harris was not as fast as some other fast bowlers of his generation, but he was quite accurate with his lines and lengths. Nicknamed 'Rhino', he was a late arrival to international cricket, debuting in 2009 at the age of 29.
His debut Test series in New Zealand in 2010 yielded nine wickets and later that year he claimed nine in the Perth Ashes Test. However, injuries plagued him and ruled Tests out of his career. He still managed to bowl prolifically in the 2013 Ashes and finished with 24 wickets at 19.58. A knee injury ended his career in 2015, finishing with 113 Test scalps at 23.
chris rogers
Chris Rogers was one of the many batsmen for whom it was nearly impossible to break into a stable, star-studded Australian team. But, Rogers did - and he made a splash early in his career.
He made his debut in 2008 at the age of 31 but didn't get to play another Test until 2013. The 36-year-old then led England to defeats first at home and then away. His average gradually rose from the twenties to the thirties and into the forties as he scored runs against South Africa, Pakistan and India and finished with an average of 42 after 25 Tests against England in 2015.
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