Cricket-Age just a number for record-breaking Oman veteran Kaleem

Oman's Aamir Kaleem has become the oldest player ever to ​play in a Twenty20 World Cup, but the 44-year-old ​veteran insists he's far from finished and is ‌determined ​to keep pushing for his country's success. Kaleem achieved the milestone at 44 years and 81 days during Oman's eight-wicket loss to Zimbabwe on Monday in Sri Lanka, eclipsing former ‌Hong Kong captain Ryan Campbell's record (44 years and 34 days) from the 2016 edition.

"Age is just a number because I can still compete at this level. I'm working very hard and the credit goes to my national team trainer and physio," Kaleem told Reuters ‌on a video call. The all-rounder, who made his international debut in 2015, got a late entry to the World Cup ‌squad, replacing injured fast bowler Hassnain Shah. After spending two to three years mainly on the sidelines, consistent domestic performances earned him his World Cup spot.

"I am still hungry (to play)... I'm a strong believer in keeping myself fit at this age and doing my process," he said. While Oman boast experience with ⁠Mohammad Nadeem (43) ​as the tournament's second-oldest player, ⁠Kaleem believes associate nations need more exposure against the full-member nations. Last year, Oman played only two T20 games against the test-playing teams India and Pakistan out ⁠of 15 matches.

"We are lacking the experience of playing at the highest levels. All the associate teams have very good talent, but the only ​thing we are not getting are the regular opportunities to play against the test nations or in such tournaments," ⁠Kaleem said. "In this World Cup, we saw England v Nepal and the Netherlands v Pakistan and it was exciting to see how the associate teams were giving ⁠a ​tough time to the test teams. I think ICC has to look forward to giving more opportunities in the future."

Despite being winless in a challenging group with full-member nations, including former champions Australia and Sri Lanka, Kaleem remains confident that his ⁠side will grow in the coming matches. "We're playing too many rash shots, which are not needed in a power play... but ⁠in the coming matches, we'll ⁠definitely apply ourselves to spend more time (on the pitch) and take the team longer. Next game, you will see a different Oman team," he said. Oman suffered a 105-run loss to Sri ‌Lanka on Thursday and ‌are set to play Ireland on Saturday.