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Cricket is a game of skill, technique, and patience. It requires much hard work and dedication to excel at the highest level. While most players tend to peak in their early twenties, there have been several cricketers who have reached their pinnacle after turning 30. In this article, we will take a closer look at some of the players who peaked after turning 30 in cricket.
1. Michael Hussey
The finisher, game changer, the pillar of the Australian cricket team of his time, Michael Hussey. He is also known as Mr Cricket in the cricketing world. He is one of those players who peaked after turning 30. Hussey came into the international cricket arena at the age of 30 but left a huge impact on the game. He played several memorable and match-winning knocks but his innings against Pakistan in T20 WC 2010, in which he played a match-winning knock in a last over thriller stands as his finest. He made 12253 International runs after 30.
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2. Rangana Herath
Rangana Herath is an ex-Sri Lankan cricketer widely considered one of the best spin bowlers in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. Herath featured in all three formats but was regarded as a test specialist. He emerged as a reliable match-winner spinner for Sri Lanka. Herath was a left-arm orthodox spinner who depended on accuracy, flight, and inconspicuous varieties to deceive the batsmen. Herath picked up only 35 wickets before 30 but after 30 he picked up 398 wickets in international cricket.
3. Misbah-ul-Haq
The man of crisis, the most successful test Captain of Pakistan, the former Pakistani Coach Misbah-ul-Haq remains a respected figure in Pakistani cricket and is cited as an example of hard work, discipline, and determination. He is one of the players who peaked after turning 30. Before the age of 30, Misbah only scored 402 international runs but after that, he made 10730 runs across all three formats. The former Pakistani captain holds many records as he led the Asia Cup 2012 winning squad, a clean sweep of England in test series (The no. 1 test team at the time), and was the first Asian captain who won the ODI series in South Africa. Moreover holds the record of fastest fifty in Test cricket
4. Saeed Ajmal
The superstar, the magician, the most skilful spinner in his era, the nightmare for the world batters, the former world’s top-ranked bowler in the ICC Rankings, the Faisalabad-born off-spinner Saeed Ajmal made his international debut at the age of 30 and proved his worth in the Pakistani team as well as in international cricket. He picked up 447 international wickets after the age of 30. He is one of the top names on the list of those who peaked after turning 30. Ajmal remained the No. 1 ODI and T20I bowler in the ICC ranking and No. 2 in Test ranking for many years.
5. Suryakumar Yadav
Dynamic, prominent, Mr 360 of the modern era, the middle-order batter of India Suryakumar Yadav the No.1 batter in the ICC T20 ranking. Surya is known for his unorthodox batting and power-hitting ability. Although he made his debut after the age of 30, he impresses everyone with his outstanding batting. Players who peaked after turning 30, Suryakumar Yadav is also one of them. He performed phenomenally in T20I but failed to replicate his performances in Test and ODI cricket. He scored 1675 runs in 46 T20I innings with an average of 46.53 and a tremendous strike rate of 175.76.
