Zimbabwe’s Taylor takes over from Tendulkar as longest-serving ODI player

Published: September 16, 2026 01:23 PM IST

Brendan Taylor has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the longest-serving one-day international (ODI) player, with a career spanning 22 years and four months.

Despite his longevity, Taylor is not the most capped ODI player, a record still held by Sachin Tendulkar with 463 appearances.

Brendan Taylor came out of retirement in 2025 after a three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching anti-corruption and anti-doping codes, in preparation for Zimbabwe co-hosting the ODI World Cup.

Brendan Taylor replaced India great Sachin Tendulkar as the longest-serving one-day international player on Tuesday after the Zimbabwe veteran took the field for the series opener against Australia in Harare.

Taylor’s ODI career now spans 22 years and four months, taking the mantle from Tendulkar, who retired from the 50-overs format in 2012 after playing for 22 years and three months.

Taylor, 40, emerged as one of Zimbabwe’s most prolific talents in 2004 and has scored a national record 11 hundreds in 207 ODI games heading into Tuesday’s match. Taylor retired in 2021 and was banned for three and a half years in 2022 for breaching the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Anti-Doping codes.

After serving the suspension, he came out of retirement in 2025 with Zimbabwe gearing up to co-host next year’s ODI World Cup with South Africa and Namibia. Despite the feat, Tendulkar remains the format’s most capped player with 463 appearances.