5 cricketers who had the longest international career in Indian cricket history

Every sportsperson wants to have a long international career representing his/her country. Each one wants to contribute for as long as possible. However, all that depends primarily on the fitness and form of the player.

If the player remains injury-free and can consistently contribute to the success of the team, he can have a long career. But it is difficult to stay injury-free in a sport like cricket for a long time. There are a few niggles here and there which will keep the player out for some time at least.

But there have been players who have had a long career despite all the injury issues. And there are many Indian cricketers who’ve had a long career. Hence, we look at 5 cricketers who had the longest international career in Indian cricket history.

Note – Players who played before 1947 have not been considered since a lot of playing years were lost due to the war.

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#5 Anil Kumble (April 1990 – October 2008)

Anil Kumble is probably one of the best spinners to have played for India in the history of the game. He was a genuine match-winner.

Having made his international debut in 1990 at the age of 19 and impressed everyone in his early days. He was tall and unorthodox as a leg-spinner. He was never a big turner of the ball, but he used to extract bounce from almost any surface. His accuracy was his strength and he seldom gave the batsmen anything to work with. Nicknamed as ‘Jumbo’, he was every captain’s go-to bowler.

In 1999, he became the second bowler after Jim Laker to take 10 wickets in a Test innings when he took 10/74 against Pakistan in Delhi. Not only at home, Kumble was a force to reckon even overseas. Out of his 619 Test wickets, he has taken 269 of those away from home.

His exploits in ODI cricket are superb as well. In 271 games, he has 337 wickets to his name. He was also made the captain of the Indian Test team when Rahul Dravid stepped down after the 2007 World debacle (during which Kumble retired from ODI cricket). He was the captain for a year before constant back issues forced him to retire from international cricket.

In 2008, Kumble’s glorious 18-year career came to an end as he finished with 955 wickets in international cricket.

#4 Srinivas Venkataraghavan (February 1965 – September 1983)

Srinivas Venkataraghavan also served as an umpire after he retired

Srinivas Venkataraghavan was the fourth member of the famed Indian spin quartet which also included Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna. However, he was generally overlooked as the selectors favoured the other 3 spinners. Also, he was the captain of the Indian team in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups.

Venkataraghavan made his Test debut in 1965 against New Zealand and took 8/72 in just his fourth Test match. However, inconsistent performances meant that he could never get a longer rope in the team. It didn’t help that he was in and out of the side constantly.

After poor outings in 1978 and 1979, Venkataraghavan was dropped from the side and it seemed like his career was over. However, he made a comeback in 1983 and then retired after Test series against Pakistan.

In his 18-year career, Venkataraghavan took 156 wickets in 57 Test matches. He played just 15 ODIs and picked up only 5 wickets.

#3 Ashish Nehra (February 1999 – November 2017)

Ashish Nehra was given a fitting farewell at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi in November 2017

Ashish Nehra is one of those rare fast bowlers whose careers spanned more than 15 years. Considering the fact that fast bowlers are injury-prone, Nehra defied age and injury to keep coming back.

Nehra made his debut way back in 1999 against Sri Lanka. He played just 17 Tests in the span of 5 years as injuries constantly troubled him. But his exploits with the white ball were better. His 6/23 against England in the 2003 World Cup is a spell which will be etched in Indian cricket history forever. But in 2005, he went through a major ankle surgery which kept him out of action for a long time. However, he made a strong comeback and along with Zaheer Khan, Nehra was the leader of the Indian attack in ODI cricket. He was a part of the World Cup-winning squad in 2011.

However, despite performing decently in the 2011 World Cup, Nehra who was nursing an injury never got into the ODI team after recovering fully. But his exploits in the IPL helped him earn a recall in the T20 side in January 2016 and he was a part of Indian T20 squad for more than 18 months before retiring in November 2017.

It brought an end to an injury-plagued career which lasted for almost 19 years. Ashish Nehra took 235 wickets in international cricket (44 in Tests, 157 in ODIs and 34 in T20Is).

#2 Mohinder Amarnath (December 1969 - October 1989)

Mohinder Amarnath was a little inconsistent and hence kept finding himself out of the team

Mohinder Amarnath will forever be remembered for his match-winning performance in the 1983 World Cup Final. Scoring 26 in India’s total of 183 before coming out and taking 3/12 (in 7 overs) which helped India defend a modest total and lift the World Cup title.

Son of former India captain Lala Amarnath, Mohinder made his Test debut in 1969. After his debut series in 1969, Amarnath had to wait for 7 years to get another opportunity and it was only in 1983 that he cemented his place in both Tests and ODIs.

Mohinder was a little inconsistent and hence kept finding himself out of the team. But he kept making a comeback and eventually retired in 1989 which brought an end to a very good career. In 63 Tests, amassed 4378 runs while he scored 1924 runs in 85 ODIs. TO go with more than 6000 international runs, Amarnath also picked up 78 wickets in his international career.

#1 Sachin Tendulkar (November 1989 – November 2013)

Sachin Tendulkar was one of the greatest players to have played the game

Sachin Tendulkar is a name that is worshipped not only in India but around the world. He is arguably the greatest batsman to have played the game of cricket. Having scored 34,357 runs in international cricket along with 100 centuries, Tendulkar is by far one of the most successful batsmen in the history of the game. Tendulkar was just not about numbers. He was the pride of India. He was called the ‘God of Cricket’.

He made his debut against Pakistan on November 15, 1989. As a 16-year-old, he faced the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (also on debut), Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir. Soon, he became the pillar of the Indian batting line-up. For many years, he was the lone-warrior who carried the Indian batting on his shoulders.

He was no less in ODI cricket as well. He was the first batsman in cricket history to score a double ton in ODI cricket. He was the highest run-getter in World Cup cricket as well. The records he has set (or broken) will be very hard to break.

He served India for 24 long years and had the 5th longest career in the history of the game. His farewell game in 2013 was treated like a festival and in front of a jam-packed Wankhede crowd, Sachin bid adieu to the game of cricket.