Cricket has a century-long history, and many notable figures have dominated the sport in their various times. Few, however, have been able to extend their careers and retain health and stamina for lengthy periods of time. This may have been done on a domestic level, but it is extremely unusual on an international level.
Many cricketers have represented their countries in international cricket for over or close to two decades. Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, Sachin Tendulkar, and Inzamam Ul Haq are personalities that have represented their nations for more than two decades, winning several awards in the process. There are a few others, like Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara, who played for less than two decades yet with the greatest number of international players.
When the subject of cricket longevity comes up, the name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the first to spring to mind. With a total of 18,426 runs in 22 years and 91 days, Sachin Tendulkar is the cricketer with the longest and most distinguished ODI career.
1.Sachin Tendulkar
It’s not every day that you come across a cricketer with a 24-year lengthy and successful international career like Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin Tendulkar played 463 ODIs in 22 years and 91 days. Sachin Tendulkar was not the biggest in size, yet he could intimidate the era’s tallest bowlers. It was the era of Sachin Tendulkar. He was a nightmare for many bowlers, who described him as difficult to dismiss. His numbers back up his legend. With 34, 357 runs — 15,921 in Tests, 18426 in ODIs, and 10 from a single T20I — the 47-year-old is the highest run-scorer in international cricket.
2.Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is a Jamaican cricketer who represents the West Indies in international cricket. From 2007 through 2010, Gayle led the West Indies, Test team. Gayle has established several records in the game’s three forms. He has the most international caps for the West Indies and is the only player to hit three centuries — a triple hundred in Tests, a double hundred in ODIs, and a century in T20Is.
Gayle is the first batsman in T20 cricket history to hit 1000 sixes. He is considered one of the best T20 cricket batsmen of all time. Gayle represented the West Indies at the youth international level before making his first-class debut for Jamaica in 1998, at the age of 19. In 1999, he played his first One Day International, and six months later, he played his first Test match.
3.George Gunn
George Gunn was, without a doubt, Nottinghamshire’s finest batsman. He would very certainly have improved upon his stellar records if he had a different temperament because his talent and judgment made batting against first-class bowlers look like the easiest thing in the world. He only played 15 test matches in his 23-year career, scoring 1120 runs at an average of 40, including two hundred. He amassed 35208 runs in 643 games with an average of 35.96 and 62 centuries throughout his 32-year First-Class career.
4.Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi has played alongside 151 different cricketers in his 22-year international career. In this top group of cricketers, this is still the most. Afridi’s career stretched from 1996 to 2018, and he appeared in matches all around the world. He played the most international matches for Pakistan, with 518 (27 Tests, 393 ODIs, and 98 T20Is). He also played three One-Day Internationals for the Asia XI and the ICC World XI, bringing his total international appearances to 524. Afridi finished his international career with 11196 runs at an average of 23.57 and 541 wickets.
5.Frank Woolley
Frank Edward Woolley was without a doubt one of the greatest left-handed all-rounders of all time. He appeared in 64 England matches, hitting 3283 runs at an average of 36.07 and taking 87 wickets. He struck 58,969 runs in first-class cricket between 1906 and 1938, second only to Sir Jack Hobbs, with 145 hundred, for an average of 40.75; he took 2,066 wickets for 19.87 runs apiece, and he held 1,018 catches, mostly at slip, a record that still stands.
