10 players who made their international debut after Ashish Nehra and retired before him

The first T20I between India and New Zealand that is set to be played at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi later today (November 1, 2017) will mark the end of an era, as Indian pacer Ashish Nehra is set to make his final appearance in international cricket.

The left-arm pacer made his International debut on February 24, 1999, when India took on Sri Lanka in a Test match. Since then, he has represented the country in 17 Tests, 120 ODIs and 26 T20Is, taking a combined total of 235 wickets across all three formats.

Currently, he is also the senior-most cricketer in terms of longevity as all the players who made their debut before him have announced their retirement. In fact, some cricketers who made their debut after Nehra have already retired from the sport.

Let us take a look at 10 high-profile names who made their international debut after Nehra and retired before him.

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Graeme Smith

Without a doubt, former South African cricketer Graeme Smith will go down as one of the greatest captains to have graced the sport. He made his international debut against Australia in a Test at the Newlands in Cape Town in 2002 and has played 347 matches for his country till date.

He was made the captain of South Africa just one year after his debut and the left-hander did a fantastic job for the Proteas both as a captain and as a batsman. He ended his career as South Africa's second highest run scorer with 9265 runs in 117 runs at an average of 48.25. In the 197 ODIs he has played, he amassed 6989 runs at an average of 38 apart from accounting for 982 runs in the T20I format.

Smith took part in three World Cups (captained his team in two of them) and three T20Is but unfortunately, he never got the chance to lift the trophy even once. He called it a day from international cricket in 2014, at an age of 33.

Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum is one of the finest cricketers to have played for New Zealand. McCullum played his first match for the Kiwis in January 2002 when he was a part of the New Zealand XI to take on Australia in an ODI in Sydney. He made his Test debut for the Blackcaps a couple of years later.

He has played 101 Tests in which he scored 6453 runs at an average of 38.64 and in the 260 ODIs, he averages 30.41 for his 6083 runs. He is also the leading run scorer in T20Is as he has scored 2140 runs in 71 matches at an average of 35.66.

He also took part in four World Cups and five World T20s and led his team to the final of the 2015 World Cup. With his aggressive captaincy, he won a lot of hearts. In his last international match in February 2016, McCullum scored the fastest Test hundred against Australia in Hamilton.

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Former Sri Lankan skipper is one of the 11 players to have scored 10,000 ODI runs. The right-hander played his first international match for Sri Lanka in Bulawayo on November 18, 1999, and made his ODI debut against the same opposition at the same venue 20 days later.

In the 87 Tests he played, he scored 5492 runs at an average of 41 apart from scoring 10290 runs in 330 ODIs at an average of 39. He has also amassed 1889 runs in 80 T20I matches at an average of 28.

He also captained Sri Lanka in 42 internationals and played in four World Cups, 14 World T20s. Dilshan was adjudged the Man of the Tournament in the 2009 World T20. After retiring from Tests in 2013, Dilshan, a part of the 2014 World T20 winning Sri Lankan squad, announced his departure from international cricket after the 2016 home series against Australia.

Younis Khan

It is quite interesting to know that only one Pakistani batsman has scored over 10,000 international runs and that is none other than their former skipper Younis Khan. Younis ended his Test career with 10099 runs at an average of 52 and in ODIs, he had a decent record that reads 7249 runs in 265 games at an average of 31.

Younis made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi in 2000 and announced his retirement in May 2017. The right-hander also participated in numerous World Cups and World T20s. The biggest achievement of Younis Khan in his career was leading Pakistan to triumph in the 2009 World T20.

Zaheer Khan

When Ashish Nehra was at his peak, his partner-in-crime, ie. his new-ball partner, was another left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan. Nehra played a majority of his matches alongside Zaheer and the duo gave the Indian fans a lot of good memories to cherish.

Zaheer, who announced his retirement from cricket in 2015, made his international debut a year after Nehra when he was included in the Indian side to face Kenya in the 2000 ICC Knockout Cup.

After that, the left-armer took 610 wickets in 309 matches across all the three formats and established himself as India's finest left-arm seamer ever. Adding to this, Zaheer has been a part of three World Cup squads, winning one and being a part of the team that reached the final in 2003.

Brett Lee

Brett Lee is someone who has intimidated a lot of batsmen during his time with his pace and accuracy before retiring from international cricket in 2012. Upon his international retirement, Lee had played in 76 Tests, 221 ODIs and 25 T20Is taking over 700 wickets across all formats. His 380 wickets in ODIs is the most by any Australian in the format.

Lee made his international debut against India at the MCG in December 1999 and has been a part of two World Cup campaigns, winning one in 2003 and also represented the Aussies in few World T20s.

After his retirement, Brett Lee has joined Channel Nine's commentary panel and is also a part of Star Sports' panel too.

Mike Hussey

Former Australian batsman Mike Hussey is one of the perfect examples for cricketers who started their international career late and retired as a legend. After making his first-class debut for Western Australia in 1994, Hussey got his break in international cricket in 2004 when he was a part of the Aussie squad to face India in an ODI at WACA.

He made his T20I and Test debut a few months later and by the time he called it a day in 2013, he was one of Australia's prolific run scorers across all three formats. In Tests, he scored 6235 runs in 79 matches at an average of 51.52 and in ODIs, he accounted for 5442 runs at 48.15 runs per innings.

Hussey was a part of two World Cups, winning one and played in four World T20s.

Kumar Sangakkara

Kumar Sangakkara, without a doubt, is one of the best batsmen to have graced the sport and his elegance forced a lot of people to stay glued to their TV sets. The Sri Lankan international is one of the very few batsmen to have crossed the 10,000-run mark in both Tests and ODIs.

After his international debut in July 2000, Sangakkara scored 12,400 runs in Tests at an average of over 57. His ODI records are not that bad as the left-hander has stamped his authority by scoring 14,234 runs in 404 matches at an average of 52.

Overall, he has been a part of 594 international matches and has taken part in four World Cup editions and five World T20 tournaments including the victorious 2014 edition.

Virender Sehwag

Both Virender Sehwag and Ashish Nehra started their career almost at the same time, played together in age-group cricket, played together in the Indian domestic circuit and then, in the Indian team. In a recent interview, Nehra even revealed that both him and Sehwag used to travel together to train during their childhood days.

Sehwag made his debut for India in an ODI against Pakistan, a couple of months after Nehra's international debut and played his cricket along with the left-armer. Sehwag is one of the most destructive batsmen to have played the game as he has scored 8586 Test runs in 104 matches at an average of almost 50 and a strike-rate of 83.

In ODIs, he scored his 8273 runs at an average of 35 and a strike-rate of 105. Sehwag was a part of three World Cup campaigns, winning one and also won the 2007 World T20. He is one of the few players who were a part of both the World Cup-winning squads.

Sehwag announced his international retirement in 2015.

Michael Clarke

Making his international debut four years after Nehra, former Australian skipper Michael Clarke played in 394 international matches across all the formats, scoring almost 17,000 runs in an illustrious career that saw him win two World Cups, one as a player and one as a captain.

Without a doubt, Clarke, who was a right-handed batsman and bowled slow left-arm, is one of the finest Australian captains to have led the team as he has tasted a lot of success at the helm. Clarke ended his 12-year-old international career in August 2015. Incidentally, he even made his first-class debut for New South Wales after the Indian pacer.

After his retirement, Clarke became a Cricket Pundit and was named in Channel Nine's broadcast team that had the likes of Ian Chappell, Mark Nicholas, Shane Warne etc.