Ravi Bopara at 40: Runs, coaching, and England dream
Ravi Bopara is enjoying the later part of his cricket career with the same energy he’s always had. The former England all-rounder is also starting to move into coaching. Now 40, he still plays for Northamptonshire. This season, he’s scored key runs in T20 games, including an unbeaten 84 from 45 balls against Derbyshire.
While his bowling may have slowed down, he still makes a mark with the bat. Currently, achieving 10,000 career runs is among his goals. So far, he has played 171 games for England in different formats. Since then, he hasn't played international cricket. Still, his career highlights like scoring three Test hundreds in a row in 2009 stand out.
Looking back on his journey, Bopara says he often took on too much and wished he had played with more freedom. After leaving Essex in 2019, his career in franchise cricket has grown. He’s done especially well in the Pakistan Super League, where he’s now head coach of Karachi Kings.
Even though he didn’t play in The Hundred this year, Bopara stays hopeful about opportunities that may come later. Looking forward, his goal is simple: 'One day, I want to coach England’, he says with a smile, still driven by the game’s tests and openings.
