Top 5 Oldest Indians To Feature In World Cup

image-lnabgbqfAshwin & Kohli are the only ones from the 2011 World Cup team 

We are just a few hours away before the first game of the World Cup 2023 kicks off in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. Every player dreams of playing in the World Cup for his country and a few wish to retire after representing their nation for the last time at the World Cup. 

It has been a fairytale career for Ravichandran Ashwin so far. It is his second time getting a call-up at the last moment to represent India at the World Cup. He has replaced Axar Patel in the 15-man squad who will be donning the Indian colours at the World Cup 2023. Unfortunately, he is the oldest in the team and made it to the top five oldest Indians to feature in the World Cup.

Here are the top 5 oldest Indian players to be a part of the World Cup:

Sunil Gavaskar (38 Years 118 Days)

image-lnab7ss6Sunil Gavaskar (Twitter)

Sunil Gavaskar is known as one of the stalwarts of the cricket world. With over 13000 runs in international cricket, he was one of the greatest opening batters in the world. He represented India four times at the World Cups in the years, 1974, 1979,1983, and 1987. Gavaskar was fortunate enough to be a part of only one of the two World Cup-winning Indian teams. 

During the 1987 World Cup, Sunil Gavaskar was over 38 years of age and he smashed 300 runs including one century and a couple of half centuries in seven innings. He is the oldest Indian to feature in the World Cup.

MS Dhoni (38 Years 2 Days)

image-lnab8tz2MS Dhoni (Twitter)

The World Cup 2011 winning captain is the second oldest Indian to have featured in the World Cup. Dhoni is known as one of the best captains in the world as he has won three ICC trophies in his tenure. He has featured in four ODI World Cups for India and managed to win one of them, leading from the front. 

2019 was MS Dhoni's last World Cup, where India lost the semi-final against New Zealand. The picture of Dhoni's run-out still haunts the Indian fans. In nine games, MS scored 273 runs including two half-centuries. 

Sachin Tendulkar (37 Years 343 Days)

image-lnab9dezSachin Tendulkar (Twitter)

The God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar had a fairytale ending to his career. The Indian team not only won the 2011 World Cup, but they won it for him. Sachin has been a part of six ODI World Cups and 2011 was indeed a dream come true for him. He was almost 38 when the Indian team lifted the 2011 World Cup.

In 44 World Cup innings, the master-blaster scored over 2200 runs including six centuries and 15 half-centuries. He was also the highest scorer of his last World Cup, scoring 482 runs including two centuries. He was the third oldest Indian to play in the World Cup.

Farokh Engineer (37 Years 109 Days)

image-lnabbxoiFarookh Engineer (Twitter)

Farokh Engineer was the fourth oldest to represent India at the World Cup in 1975 when he was 37 years old. He featured in the one World Cup and was the oldest in that. He was the first Indian to play County cricket as well. 

He was a wicket-keeper batter, who played three World Cup games and scored a total of 78 runs in two innings including one half-century. He is also the last player to represent India from his community thus far. 

Ravichandran Ashwin (37 Years 18 Days)

image-lnabfg8dRavichandran Ashwin (Twitter)

The off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has made his way back to the 2023 World Cup after missing out on the 2019 World Cup. He becomes the fifth oldest Indian to feature in the World Cup. Ashwin will be playing his third ODI World Cup, as he was also a part of the 2011 winning team and the team that lost in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup. 

In the 2015 World Cup, he managed to pick up 13 wickets in just eight games. Now, with India hosting the World Cup, Ashwin will be a crucial finger spinner and an experienced player for the team. He is 37 and will be featuring in the 2023 World Cup.