Georgetown, September 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir has revealed that his young son is the biggest motivation behind his decision to continue playing competitive cricket after becoming the oldest bowler in T20 history to claim a five-wicket haul at the age of 47.

Tahir produced a career-best spell of 5/17 in four overs as Guyana Amazon Warriors secured a comprehensive victory over St Lucia Kings at Providence Stadium. The performance came in his 461st T20 appearance, nearly two decades after he began his professional journey in Pakistan’s domestic cricket in 2006.

Explaining what keeps him going at this stage of his career, Tahir said his son repeatedly encourages him to play for another year so that they can eventually share the field.

“For me, my role is obviously to contain the opposition in the middle. I’m an attacking bowler. If the wickets come, I don’t mind. I think my son is the main guy who has been pushing me,” Tahir said, according to Cricinfo.

“He keeps telling me, ‘Daddy, one more year…one more year and then you need to play with me’. So, it’s a kind of motivation. I want to give it to him and all the youngsters who are watching me around the world.”

Tahir said his longevity has been built on sustained hard work and stressed that personal milestones have never been his primary objective.

“I put a lot of hard work into it and it’s nice to see how it comes out the way you want it. It’s not the personal achievement I look for. We work hard to get the personal achievement but I’m very lucky I delivered today,” he said.

His spell also helped the Amazon Warriors bounce back immediately after suffering their first defeat of the season against Antigua & Barbuda Falcons.

Tahir dismissed Kamil Pooran for 43 with a sharp googly before bowling all-rounder Matthew Forde through the off-stump. He said the conditions at Providence, where the ball offered some turn, allowed him to make effective use of his variations.

The spinner credited his disciplined lines and lengths for the success, saying the ball was turning sharply and giving him the bite he had been missing in the previous two matches.

Tahir’s latest performance added another remarkable chapter to a T20 career that has now stretched across 461 appearances and continues to inspire younger players around the world.