As per reports, BCCI could bring in a rule which would allow teams to retain players who retired for five or more years as uncapped players. This could help them in their budgeting. On that note, here, we take a look at the list of three cricketers who last played a T20I almost 4 years ago but are still very active in IPL.
Note: We have considered players who are actively playing in the IPL as of the recent 2024 edition.
1) MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni announced his retirement in 2020. However, his last game was in 2019. Hence, by IPL 2025, he would be almost 5 years since he last played an international game.
MS Dhoni is still a key player at CSK. While he is almost irreplaceable behind the stumps, he also produces vital cameos with the bat in the end.
2) Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis is one of the veteran cricketers who last played a T20I almost 4 years ago but is still very active in IPL. Aged 40 now, Faf is still one of the best batters in the league. He did well in IPL 2024 and he is also in good form right now.
His fitness is not at all a concern. Having also proved his captaincy in multiple leagues, Faf would still be an interesting acquisition for quite a few franchises, provided he gets released by RCB.
3) Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine’s IPL career was not going in the right direction as of the end of IPL 2023. However, after Gautam Gambhir arrived at the franchise, he looked to be a different player.
The West Indian cricketer, who last played a T20I for his country quite a few years ago, opened the batting in IPL 2024. He scored a whole lot of runs and also picked up many wickets. Now, he is all set to be retained by KKR ahead of the next auctions.
