5 active cricketers who have had the longest career span in ODIs 

Whenever longevity on the cricket pitch comes to mind, the name of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is the first one to pop in our heads. Sachin has been the cricketer with the longest and the most illustrious ODI career with a whopping 18,426 runs in a career spanning 22 years and 91 days.

He was caught on zero by Wasim Akram off the bowling of Waqar Younis on his debut against Pakistan at Gujranwala in December 1989. And after a career spanning more than 2 decades, he retired from ODIs on 18th March 2012 against Pakistan at Dhaka in the Asia Cup where he scored 52.

So here's the list of some active* cricketers who have had the longest career span in One-Day Internationals.

* Here active cricketers refer to the players who have played an One Day International in 2017-18.

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#5 Mashrafe Mortaza - 16 years and 334 days

England v Bangladesh - ICC Champions Trophy

Mashrafe Mortaza made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe on November 23, 2001, in which he impressed one and all with his spell of 8.2-3-26-2 and made Grant Flower his first dismissal in ODIs. From thereon, there have been several ups and downs in his career, but he has made it back and has been given the responsibility of captaining Bangladesh.

He has featured in a total of 199 ODI matches for his country, taking 252 wickets with a best of 6/26 against Kenya in 2006. He has, at times, also been critical with the bat scoring 1722 runs in 147 innings with the highest score of 51*.

He has also been one of the most successful Bangladeshi captains in ODIs with a Win/Loss ratio of 1.407.

Mashrafe had announced his retirement from T20I in April 2017 but still hopes for a chance in Bangladesh's Test squad for which he last turned out almost a decade back in 2009.

#4 Hamilton Masakadza - 17 years and 33 days

Zimbabwe v the United Arab Emirates - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup

Currently, the senior-most player and the captain of the Zimbabwe team, Hamilton Masakadza has been active in ODI cricket since his debut versus South Africa on September 23, 2001, at Bulawayo.

His ODI career with 204 matches has spanned 17 years and 33 days till the last match that Zimbabwe had played on Oct 26, 2018, against Bangladesh. He has scored 5604 runs with a highest of 178* against Kenya, at an average of 28.16 filled with 5 hundred and 34 fifties.

He is currently the fourth highest runs scorer, has the second highest score (178*) in an innings, and has the most 150+ scores (2) for Zimbabwe in ODIs.

His 567 runs at an average of 116.75 with 2 hundreds and a fifty in a 5-match ODI series against Kenya in 2009, are the most runs scored by a Zimbabwean in an ODI Series.

He is currently active in T20Is and Tests too but will miss out from the 2019 World Cup as Zimbabwe failed to qualify.

#3 Marlon Samuels - 18 years and 28 days

Samuels failed to create an impact in the series against India

The West Indies' World T20 2016 final hero, Marlon Samuels who, currently, is a key cog in West Indies' plans for the ICC 2019 World Cup, has been in and out of the national side for the controversies he has courted in the past.

The 37-year old has been guilty of indiscipline, match-fixing and a faulty bowling action on multiple occasions. But despite that his talent and skill has helped him carve out a regular place for himself in West Indies' ODI and T20I sides.

He has amassed 5536 runs at an average of 33.14 with 10 hundreds and 30 fifties in the 204 matches that he has featured in. A handy right-arm off break bowler, he has taken 89 wickets with a best of 3-12 in his ODI bowling career.

He was last seen in action in the 5th ODI (D/N) of the West Indies tour of India at Thiruvananthapuram, on Nov 1, 2018.

#2 Chris Gayle - 18 years and 320 days

Gayle is seen in T20 leagues more

The 'Universal boss', currently famous for globetrotting for his T20 league stints across the world, although absent from the West Indian squad for India, is still a part of West Indies' ODI scheme of things.

Chris made his ODI debut against India in Toronto on Sep 11, 1999, where he was bowled on the score of 1 by Robin Singh. He last featured in an ODI in July 2018 against Bangladesh where he scored 73 runs.

The explosive opening batsman holds quite a few records in International cricket for his team. He has the highest score (215), most hundreds (23), the second highest runs (9672), the second highest average (37.34) among active West Indian cricketers and the third highest number of fifties (71) by a West Indian in One-Day Internationals.

He took his retirement from Tests in 2014 to focus on his limited-overs career.

#1 Shoaib Malik - 19 years and 24 days

Malik is one of the most illustrated players

The 36-year old from Pakistan is one of the most illustrious limited-overs players to have come out of Pakistan.

Although the former Pakistani captain announced his retirement from Test matches in 2015, he is still a vital part of the Pakistani ODI and T20I sides.

He made his ODI debut as a bowler against the West Indies at Sharjah on October 14, 1999, where he impressed with the figures of 8-1-34-2. His batting prowess soon came into notice, and from thereon he made a name for himself as a batting all-rounder. Currently, Shoaib figures in the scheme of things as a batsman providing the required solidity to Pakistan's middle-order in limited overs cricket.

He has featured in 272 ODIs in the Pakistani colors and amassed 7256 runs at an average of 35.56 with the highest score of 143 against India in the 2004 Asia Cup.

Although not bowling currently, he has taken a total of 156 wickets with a best of 4/19 in his ODI career.