Senior moments: For many sports, age is just a number

The extraordinary durability of modern-day sports stars is not a serendipitous development

One of the in-jokes during the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League was the average age of the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) team. Chennai Senior Kings, one wag dubbed them, because most key players were over 30 years — captain M S Dhoni (36), Suresh Raina (31), Shane Watson (36), Ambati Rayudu (32), Harbhajan Singh (37), Faf du Plessis (33) and Imran Tahir (39). In the sporting world, performers past 30 are considered geriatric. This is particularly the case for the 20-over version of the game, its fast pace demanding a far higher level of mental and physical fitness