Colombo, February 14 – Oman’s most experienced all-rounder, Aamir Kaleem, has made his mark in the history books, becoming the oldest player to score a half-century, as he smashed 50 off just 28 balls against Ireland in their third match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, which was played at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.
Aamir opened the innings for Oman when they came out to chase a mammoth target of 236 to secure their first victory in the ongoing tournament.
Aamir started the innings with a four on the second ball, followed by a six on the fourth ball he played. As wickets fell on the other side, Aamir partnered with Hammad Mirza to score 73 runs.
At 44 years and 86 days, Aamir Kaleem achieved his half-century in just 28 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes during his innings. Unfortunately, he couldn't convert it into a big score and was dismissed by Barry McCarthy.
With this performance, he surpassed his teammate Mohammad Nadeem's record for being the oldest player to score a half-century, a milestone Nadeem had set earlier in the 2026 T20 World Cup after scoring a fifty against Sri Lanka at the age of 43 years and 161 days.
Sri Lanka's legend Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored a half-century at 39 years and 345 days against the West Indies in the 2009 T20 World Cup, is third on the list.
Despite Aamir's historic knock, Oman's innings collapsed after his wicket, and they were all out for just 139 runs in 18 overs as Ireland registered a 96-run victory.
Aamir recently became the oldest player to participate in the T20 World Cup, surpassing the previous record held by former Hong Kong captain Ryan Campbell (44 years and 30 days) from the 2016 edition. Kaleem was part of Oman's maiden T20 World Cup squad in 2016 and has featured in multiple Asia Cup qualifiers and World Cup qualification campaigns.
He has played 54 T20I matches and scored 718 runs while also taking 48 wickets.
