Cricket has evolved greatly over the years, with the 2015 version of the sport being quite different to what was played in the 1990s. From basic changes in rules, to the rise of the Twenty20 format, the sport has presented a new set of challenges to those who intend to make a career out of it. With the passage of years, we also bid goodbye to those who made it big during that decade, with the likes of Mahela Jayawardene and Daniel Vettori being the latest such cases. There are however, a handful of cricketers who have experienced the two eras.
India had bid a tearful farewell to Sachin Tendulkar in 2013, who until then was one of the four Indian cricketers to have played cricket in the 90s, and the only one to have played in the 1980s. As of now, only Harbhajan Singh (1998) and Virender Sehwag (1999) are the only Indians to have played in the 90s, with the former making his comeback in the Indian team during the recent tours of Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. In the Pakistan team, both Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq debuted in 1996, with Afridi retiring briefly in 2011 after the World Cup.
Flamboyant West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is one of the oldest active players at the age of 40, having made his debut in 1994. While Chanderpaul’s retirement announcement is imminent, Chris Gayle continues no signs of stopping. The burly Jamaican debuted in 1999 against India, and continues to be one of the most destructive forces with the bat. Sri Lanka too boasts of two players from the 90s in the form of Tillakaratne Dilshan and Rangana Herath, both of whom debuted in 1999. Herath could cement a place in the Sri Lankan team only after Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement from the sport after the 2011 World Cup.
Brad Hogg is the only remaining Australian cricketer to have played cricket in that decade, and the 44-year-old chinaman shows no signs of ageing.