Nepal batsman breaks Tendulkar's record to become youngest player to score international fifty

Paudel, who is aged 16 years and 146 days, scored 55 for his country in their second ODI against the UAE, and in the process also broke Shahid Afridi's record for youngest player to score an ODI fifty

Nepal batsman Rohit Paudel has broken Sachin Tendulkar's 30-year-old record by becoming the youngest player to hit an international half-century.

Paudel, who is aged 16 years and 146 days, scored 55 for his country in their second ODI against the UAE, and in the process also broke Shahid Afridi's record for youngest player to score an ODI fifty.

Tendulkar set the record at the tender age of 16 years and 213 days when he scored 59 on his Test debut for India against Pakistan in 1989.

^{Sachin Tendulkar was the previous holder of the record}

Afridi was 16 years and 217 days when he set the record in ODI cricket, and still holds the record for youngest centurion for the same innings. He scored 102 against Sri Lanka back in 1996.

This is not the first time that Paudel has flirted with a world record.

When he made his ODI debut for Nepal in August 2018 at the age of 15 years and 335 days, he was the fourth-youngest male cricketer to play in an ODI.

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.