5 current cricketers who never seem to age

Cricket is a very physically demanding sport and can take its toll on the players over a period of time. At a certain point in their career, age starts to catch up with most of them and they end up being just a pale shadow of their past.However, there have been cricketers who seemingly find the 'fountain of youth' and went on to have extended careers without being affected by age. There are a few currently active cricketers too, who are not showing any signs of ageing despite having played out a pretty long career so far.Here we take a look at 5 present day cricketers who never seem to age:

#5 Ishant Sharma

Ishant started playing for India as a teenager in 2007

It may be difficult for some people to come to terms with the fact that Ishant Sharma is only 27 years old, even though he has been around for a long time. But to be fair to Ishant, he had made his first appearance in the Indian side as a 19-year old during a Test against Bangladesh in 2007.

After making a big impression early on in his career, the lanky fast bowler fell away in terms of performance in the years that followed. Ishant, however, has been on the resurgence in the past year or so and will look to make amends on an average career with the ball thus far.

What works for Ishant Sharma is that he possibly still has almost 7 to 8 years of cricket left in him even after having played for so long, so he can bring things back on track.

#4 AB de Villiers

It is tough to believe that de Villiers has been playing for so long

Arguably the most popular cricketer in the current international scene, AB de Villiers, may not come across as someone who has been around for a long time. However, the fact is that AB has already spent more than a decade as a South African cricketer.

de Villiers kick-started his career in the Test arena at the age of 20 in the year 2004. The prolific Proteas batsman has come a long way since then to not only become their best player, but also a responsible captain in Tests as well as ODIs.

Considering the way AB de Villiers has kept himself on top of the game in terms of fitness and performance, we may see him play for South Africa for quite a few years in the future.

#3 James Anderson

James Anderson has not allowed age to come in his way

England's most successful Test bowler of all time, James Anderson, has been on a roll over the past few years as he has spearheaded his country's bowling attack. Anderson's career started as an ODI cricketer way back in the year 2002 and he has since had a 15-year long career as part of the English team.

Age is something that the 33-year old England bowler has managed to keep at bay so far. Anderson still possesses the boy-band member look which he had since the beginning. The change that has come in him is primarily related to his on-field exploits as he is far sharper and wiser compared to what he was in the early part of his career.

If James Anderson manages to maintain his fitness levels in a consistent manner, he may still be good enough to play international cricket for a good 4 to 5 years.

#2 Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan still enjoys his cricket like he did as a 19-year old

Harbhajan Singh is one of the rare present day cricketers to have made his debut in the 20th century. The Indian off-spinner has been in and out of the national team in recent years; nevertheless, he is one of the cricketers who does not seem to have aged a lot.

Bhajji, as Harbhajan is fondly called, has come a long way since making his beginning as a 19-year old in 1998. Nothing much has changed about him in terms of his intensity on the field or passion for the game. The only thing that may have changed is the fact that Harbhajan has added a bit more muscle as compared to the wiry youngster that he used to be.

Despite having played for more than 17 years now, Harbhajan Singh is only 35 at present and intends to play on for a few more years.

#1 Shahid Afridi

Afridi still possesses the exuberance of a youngster

Perhaps the most evergreen cricketer in the current international roster has been Pakistan's Shahid Afridi. The all-rounder, who made his debut in the year 1996, has been a part of his national team for close to 20 years now.

Even though Afridi has been struggling in terms of form for a while now, he remains the captain of the Pakistani team in the shortest format of the game. In the first half of his career, he played alongside some of his country's greatest players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

While they all walked into the sunset at some point or the other, Shahid Afridi stayed on as one of the senior pros in the team. With Afridi now 36 years old, there are still chances of him being around for at least a couple of years, if not more.