Too old to rock ‘n’ roll?

For the professional sportsperson, however, life can be cruel. Success on the field of play is time-bound, and when the skills start fading, so does their perceived value. They have a sell-by date which is so ambiguous that they themselves are not sure when this has arrived. It is then that they are caught in the maelstrom of self-doubt and the whims and fancies of critics, selectors and even the public, as Ganguly will be experiencing every day now.

For instance, using forty as the benchmark, we find that there have been 102 players who have played a Test match at this age. Five of these were Indians — Vijay Merchant, C K Nayudu, C Ramaswami, RJ Jamshedji and Vinoo Mankad (who was 41 years, 305 days when he played against the West Indies at Delhi in 1959).

The oldest player ever was Wilfred Rhodes, who was 52 years and 165 days when he played against the West Indies in 1930. While the last over-40 to have played a Test was England’s Alec Stewart in September 2003 (against South Africa), it is significant to note that 78 of these 102 played before 1960, which many historians reckon is the year when the ‘modern’ game is reckoned to have begun.