Tahir Rewrites His Own Record at 47 — 'Daddy, One More Year'

Most 47-year-olds are coaching their kid's under-13 team. Imran Tahir is out here bowling googlies past international batters, sliding into celebrations that would snap a ligament on anyone else, and casually rewriting world records he already owns.

At Providence Stadium in Georgetown on September 9, Tahir ripped through the Saint Lucia Kings with figures of 5/17 from four overs — becoming the oldest player to take a T20 five-wicket haul at 47 years and 166 days. The record he broke? His own, from CPL 2025, when he was a sprightly 46 years and 148 days.

Three LBWs and two clean bowls. No freebies, no tail-end charity. His victims included Kamil Pooran (43 off 35) and Roston Chase — dismissed on consecutive deliveries — before he cleaned up McKenny Clarke, Matthew Forde, and Joshua Bishop in a spell that turned 76/3 into 119 all out.

Tahir's economy of 4.25 in a T20 match would be elite for a 25-year-old quick. For a 47-year-old wrist-spinner operating in the Caribbean powerplay era, it's borderline absurd. He conceded just 17 runs in 24 deliveries while taking five wickets — that's a strike rate of 4.8, or roughly one wicket every five balls.

His CPL 2026 campaign has been quietly devastating: 12 wickets at 16.91 with an economy of 6.76, making him the tournament's fifth-highest wicket-taker. But those aggregate numbers hide the real story. When Tahir turns it on, he doesn't just take wickets — he collapses innings.

And here's the stat that should terrify every T20 league franchise director: Tahir now has 589 career T20 wickets across 461 matches. He is 11 wickets away from 600 — a club that currently has exactly three members: Rashid Khan (736), Sunil Narine (657), and Dwayne Bravo (631). At 47, he's about to gatecrash the most exclusive bowling fraternity in the format's history.

Tahir isn't just padding stats in dead rubbers. His Guyana Amazon Warriors are the CPL 2026 juggernaut — finishing the group stage at 8-1, topping the table with 16 points, and becoming the first team to register 100 CPL victories. When Tahir dismantled the Kings, he was winning a match that cemented Guyana's dominance.

The contrast with the defending champions couldn't be sharper. Trinbago Knight Riders — a squad featuring Sunil Narine, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, and Alex Hales — finished dead last with just 3 wins from 10 matches. From champions to wooden spoon in a single season. That's not decline; that's freefall.

Meanwhile, Tahir captains a Warriors side that blends youth with his own ancient wisdom. Mehidy Hasan Miraz (3/13) was equally miserly in the Kings demolition, and Quentin Sampson smashed 37* off 11 balls to close out the chase — but it was the old man who set the platform.

The easy narrative is "ageing legend defies Father Time." But Tahir isn't defying anything. He's improving. His 5/17 bettered his own 5/21 from last year. His economy this CPL is lower than several bowlers half his age. He's not hanging on — he's upgrading.

When asked about his role in the side, Tahir was characteristically direct: "For me, my role is obviously to contain the opposition in the middle. I'm an attacking bowler." No false modesty. No "I'm just happy to be here." He knows exactly what he does and exactly how well he does it.

The celebration told the story best. After the fifth wicket, Tahir launched into his trademark running-man lap, added a Cristiano Ronaldo "Siuuu" for good measure, and blew kisses to the Georgetown crowd. At 47, the legs still work. So does the wrong'un. So does the fire.

Somewhere, Tahir's son is already rehearsing the line for next year: "Daddy, one more year."