IPL - The country for old men

T20 cricket has often been dubbed as the "game of youngsters" by many. But time and again, a lot of players have proved that they can embrace changes and can become great T20 players late in their careers. Shane Watson, who played for four years after his international retirement, is a prime example of that. 

When it comes to T20s, players tend to get written off with growing age as teams look to introduce new, fearless players. But the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is showing that you can still be a valuable T20 asset even if you are 35 or more if you have the skill. 

It's tough for batters to continue playing aggressively when they get old because their power game tends to wane with increasing age. But T20 cricket being the most tactical of formats, you can still find a way to contribute if you are smart enough. 

Faf du Plessis is now 38. He was named the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain last year, replacing Virat Kohli. It was a risky choice given his age and an overseas player taking charge as captain of a franchise is not always a popular choice in the IPL. The relationship between Sunrisers Hyderabad and David Warner didn't end well.

But the fact that du Plessis has changed himself as a T20 hitter so much prompted RCB to make the decision. Since the start of last year, the former Protea skipper has notched up nearly 2000 runs and his strike-rate of 144 has been the third-highest among players who open regularly. 

Du Plessis is currently the third-highest run-getter in the IPL 2023 and his strike-rate of 173.3 is better than the top two. He played a T20I for South Africa in December 2020 but is still one of the best going around.

Topping the list is Shikhar Dhawan. The 37-year-old is one of India's finest white-ball players but has recently lost his place to Shubman Gill in both ODIs and T20Is. But Dhawan didn't speak against the selectors' choice and rather suggested that he wouldn't prefer himself over the in-form Gill.

Dhawan took charge as Punjab Kings captain this season, replacing Mayank Agarwal. He has scored 225 runs in three innings and got out only once so far. His 99* off 66 against Hyderabad on Sunday is one of the greatest IPL knocks ever given the way he hit those lusty blows after the ninth wicket fell at the score of 88. Dhawan's masterclass took his team to 143. Not many times you see a player from a losing team getting the Player of the Match award.

When you're talking about older guys, you can't just skip MS Dhoni. For the last few years, every time people say, "This is going to be Dhoni's last season". But he somehow defied age to become Chennai Super Kings' constant leader. Dhoni is the oldest player in this year's IPL (41 years). 

Dhoni seems to have prepared himself as an eight to ten-ball batter who would smash everything out of the park. That's the luxury he has because of their batting depth. Dhoni has so far played ten balls and hit three sixes and has maintained a strike-rate of 260. Mark Wood, currently one of the world's fastest bowlers, was hit for two sixes by Dhoni and the former was in disbelief because he bowled exactly where his captain told him to.

At 40, Amit Mishra is the second-oldest player of the IPL 2023. But he has shown so far why he was picked by Lucknow Super Giants even at this age. Mishra came in as the Impact Player against Hyderabad and returned 4-0-23-2. Mishra got the prized scalp of Virat Kohli against RCB in a high-scoring game and broke the threatening opening stand between him and Faf du Plessis.