Imran Tahir On A Riot: 5 Oldest Players To Record A Five-Wicket Haul In T20s

Arnav Chopra

Imran Tahir, Prakash Mishra and Tomakanute Ritawa (Source: @WisdenCricket, @EuropeanCricket/X.com)Imran Tahir, Prakash Mishra and Tomakanute Ritawa (Source: @WisdenCricket, @EuropeanCricket/X.com)

Taking a five-wicket haul is a dream for many players. While some achieve it at a younger age at the start of their career, others keep grinding with persistence and achieve the feat at a relatively old age.

T20 cricket has been the platform of many surprises, and among them are the players who have done an outstanding task of grabbing five wickets in an innings at the fag end of their careers. Therefore, in this article, let's have a look at the oldest players to pick a five-wicket haul in T20 cricket.

5. Imran Tahir - 42 Years and 135 Days (Birmingham Phoenix) vs Welsh Fire, Birmingham, 2021

At number five on this list is the former South African off-spinner Imran Tahir, who would run in and pick wickets at ease, even now, and is still picking wickets with his mystery leg spin. During the year 2021, in the men's Hundred inaugural edition, Tahir picked a five-wicket haul while playing for Birmingham Phoenix against the Welsh Fire in Birmingham at the age of 42 years 135 days.

It was the 23rd match of the season, where Phoenix batted first and scored 184 after 100 deliveries, while the Welsh Fire were knocked over for a paltry 91, where Tahir grabbed outstanding figures of 5 for 25 in his 19 deliveries as he dismissed the main batters, including Glenn Philips and Leus du Plooy. He then went on to achieve an outstanding hat-trick, dismissing Qais Ahmed, Matt Milnes, and David Payne, registering one of his finest spells in T20 cricket.

4. Prakash Mishra - 44 Years and 165 Days (Bulgaria) vs Croatia, Sofia, 2023

At number four is Bulgaria's Prakash Mishra, who achieved a five-wicket haul against Croatia in Sofia back in the year 2023. Playing in the triangular T20 series in 2023, Croatia were knocked over for just 75, thanks to an outstanding spell of medium pace bowling by the 46-year and 226-day-old Prakash Mishra, who packed five wickets for just 16 runs in his 3.4 overs, where he bowled at an economy of 4.36 while getting the batters dismissed one after the other.

In reply, the Bulgarian side achieved the target comfortably in just 6.3 overs, winning by a margin of nine wickets and with 81 deliveries to spare.

3. Imran Tahir - 44 Years and 323 Days (Rangpur Riders) vs Khulna Tigers, Chattogram, 2024

At number three is, again, the leg-spinner Tahir, who this time, while making his Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) debut in the year 2024 for Rangpur Riders, claimed a five-fer. In the 30th match of the season at Chattogram, Rangpur batted first and put up a mammoth 219 runs on the board, in which Khulna Tigers were knocked over for just 141.

Again, thanks to Tahir, who bagged five wickets in his four-over spell, giving away 26 runs at an economy of 6.50 as he went through the opposition batting lineup and helped his side to a comfortable victory by 78 runs at the age of 44 years 323 days.

2. Imran Tahir - 46 Years and 148 Days (Guyana Amazon Warriors) vs Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, North Sound, 2025*

Appearing on the list for the third time is again Tahir, who, at the age of 46 years and 148 days, achieves another 5-wicket haul in the just-concluded game in the ongoing Caribbean Premier League 2025, played in North Sound, Guyana, for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, as Tahir grabbed five wickets against Antigua and Barbuda Falcons.

Guyana amassed a massive 211 in their first innings, while the Falcons, chasing a challenging target, were cleaned up for just 128, where Tahir was magnificent, bagging 5 wickets for 21 runs in his 4 overs, with an economy of 5.25. His wickets in this encounter helped Warriors achieve an outstanding 83-run victory in the ninth match of this season.

1. Tomakanute Ritawa - 46 Years and 299 Days (Cook Islands) vs Fiji, Port Vila, 2022

Finally, moving to the number 1 player on the list is Tomakanute Ritawa, who plays for the Cook Islands. It was in 2022 against Fiji where the Cook Islands were taking the field at Port Vila in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Region Qualifier A in match number 10. Fiji were bowled out for 147 after playing out their 20 overs, where Ritawa claimed five wickets in his 4 overs, giving away just 19 runs at an economy of 4.75, as he helped the Cook Islands restrict Fiji to an under-par target.

In reply, the Island side chased the score down in 18.3 overs with 8 wickets to spare as they claimed a brilliant victory on the back of Ritawa's outstanding spell of off-spin. He achieved this feat at the age of 46 years and 299 days, making him the oldest player in the history of T20 cricket to claim a 5-wicket haul. It will now be interesting to see if Tahir manages to breach this record in the upcoming days, as he's not far away from it either.