Who is the Oldest Player in IPL Season?

Oldest Player in IPL Season: As a matter of fact, it is not often the Indian Premier League franchises entertain the inclusion of a veteran player, either an Indian or an overseas player. In recent times, it has become quite rare for players in the league to have played after turning 40, but there were still a few to be found.

It is unusual to ask about the oldest player in the Indian Premier League (IPL) because the IPL is a highly professional cricket tournament and it is rare to see players who are past their prime participating in it. In fact, only a small number of cricketers who are still in top form have played in the IPL after the age of 40.

In the 40s, even the biggest names like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were only able to play in one season of the IPL. so see Who is the Oldest Player in IPL Season.

There is a big role that old players and seniors have to play in any team, particularly in teams that are playing in the IPL, where they can help in times of pressure with their experience. In the past, there have been franchises that have leaned heavily on the talents of older players. An example of such a franchise would be the Chennai Super Kings franchise.

THE OLDEST CRICKETERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE IPL

1. Brad Hogg – 45 years 92 days

Australian spinner Brad Hogg is the oldest player ever to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After initially retiring at the end of the 2007/08 domestic season, Hogg made a remarkable comeback in 2011/12. He first returned to cricket by representing the Perth Scorchers in the inaugural edition of the Big Bash League (BBL).

In 2012, at the age of 41, Hogg was offered a contract with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL due to his impressive performances in the BBL. He later joined the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and played for them in the 2013, 2015, and 2016 seasons.

Hogg played a total of 21 IPL matches, taking 23 wickets, including a notable 4-wicket haul. His last IPL match was on May 8, 2016, against the Gujarat Lions, where he recorded figures of 2-0-19-1. At that time, Hogg was 45 years and 92 days old, making him the oldest player in IPL history.

After his IPL stint, Hogg continued to play in the BBL for two more seasons with the Melbourne Renegades. He finally retired from professional cricket in the 2017/18 season, just two weeks before his 47th birthday.

2. Pravin Tambe – 44 years 219 days

Pravin Tambe is the only Indian among the top five oldest players in the history of the Indian Premier League and has a realistic chance of becoming the top player in the next season. 

When the Kolkata Knight Riders bought the 48-year-old Tambe at his base price during the auction held for the 2020 Indian Premier League, the player had crossed the 48-year-old mark in age. He will become the oldest player in the IPL if he gets into playing XI in at least one game; he will be 48 years old.

In view of the fact that the limited-overs tournaments in the 2019/20 domestic season have now concluded, Tambe is likely not to play any matches in the 2019/20 domestic season ahead of the IPL 2020.

In fact, Tambe is nothing new to this field, as he came into the IPL in 2013 at the age of 41, without having played in a first-class match or list A match of Twenty20. 

In the time period between 2013 and 2016, the leg-spinner played 33 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL), including the last one for the Gujarat Lions against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. At the time of the game played in Bangalore, Tambe was 44 years and 219 days old.

3. Muttiah Muralidharan – 42 years 35 days

Muttiah Muralitharan had a long and illustrious career in the Indian Premier League (IPL), playing for three different teams over seven seasons.

In the first three seasons, Muralitharan played for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In 2011, he joined the newly formed Kochi Tuskers Kerala. For the last three seasons of his IPL career, he was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Despite not taking a five-wicket or four-wicket haul in his 66 IPL games, Muralitharan managed to take 63 wickets. His impressive economy rate of 6.67 stands out as a highlight of his performance. In the 2014 IPL season, he played only five matches.

His final IPL game was against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, where RCB fell short by 30 runs. Muralitharan conceded 19 runs in two overs in that match, marking a tough end to his IPL career.

At the time of his last IPL appearance, Muralitharan was 42 years and 35 days old. This match also marked the end of his professional cricket career.

4. Shane Warne 

 Shane Warne was well known for his ability to control the ball with skill and it made him quite successful as a cricket player at the international level. However, despite the number of Test matches he played, despite being captain of the Australian team for 145 games, his ability to lead a team was often undermined. In the inaugural edition of the team games, he not only displayed his captaincy skills but was also the only overseas player to lead a team.

It was under his leadership that the Rajasthan Royals won the title in the 2008 season despite a team including relatively unknown players. It is notable that he was well past the age of 38 by the time he led the Royals in four of those seasons between 2007 and 2011.

His IPL career came to an end in 2011 after leading Rajasthan Royals into their final league match against the Mumbai Indians. Rohit Sharma was the last wicket he took in the league, and that too in the 20th over of MI’s innings.

With only 13.1 overs to go, the Royals chased down the target of 134 without losing a wicket and bid adieu to Warne. At the time of his last game against Michigan, the leg-spinner was 41 years and 249 days of age.

As a former player of the Indian Premier League, Shane Warne appeared in two editions of the Big Bash League, where he played for the Melbourne Stars after retiring from the IPL. He ended his professional career in January 2013 when he announced his retirement.

5. Chris Gayle – 42 years 7 days

Among the oldest IPL cricketers in history, the legend of the West Indies’ shortest format of the game comes at number 5 of the most famous IPL cricketers. Nevertheless, he was a member of the squad of Punjab in IPL 2021 and was playing for the Punjab Kings before he made the decision to leave this year..

Gayle made his IPL debut as a player for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008, when the team faced Delhi Daredevils (now the Capitals), during the inaugural season. Having played for KKR for three years, the destructive batsman was bought by RCB in 2011 after playing for them for three years. 

In 2017, he was a member of RCB, before he became a member of Punjab Kings in 2018, and he has remained a member of them until now.

The most recent statistics show that Chris Gayle has played an incredible 142 matches in the IPL so far. During this period, he has scored a remarkable 4965 IPL runs and has an average of 39.72. Additionally, he has the highest individual score of 175 runs in IPL, which was achieved against Pune Warriors India in 2013.

He had played his last match against Mumbai Indians just recently, which took place on the 28th of September 2021. In the month of August, Gayle was 42 years and 7 days old when he played his last game against Michigan. Nevertheless, he may be able to make a new team if he registers for the next IPL mega auction. If that happens, he is likely to beat some of those on the list as well.