Cricket is one of the most famous sports in the world. Almost every child plays it in their childhood as fun, and few make it their profession. Many times, their love for the sport outpowers patriotism. Even if they lose the opportunity to play for their country as they move to a different country in childhood, the passion for the sport is never gone. Even if they cannot represent their nation, they still give their best and make it to the national team of the country they have started living in. It is even more challenging for a person outside the country to compete and get an opportunity to play internationally. Let's look at some players who succeeded in grabbing the chance despite great difficulties and kept their passion from falling back by boundaries.
1. Nasser Hussain (England)
Nasser Hussain is a former cricketer of England and captain between 1999 and 2003. Hussain was born in Madras. His father was an Indian Tamil Muslim, and his mother was an English. Initially, he played at Chepauk Stadium in Tamil Nadu with his brothers until the family shifted to England when he was seven. He received coaching there and made his test debut against West Indies in 1990. He played 96 tests and 88 ODIs and scored 5,764 and 2,332 runs, respectively. He hit fifteen international centuries.
2. Hashim Amla (South Africa)
Hashim Mohammad Amla is a former cricketer from South Africa. Born In Durban, Amla has his roots back in India. His grandfather was an Indian who emigrated to South Africa from Surat in 1927. He has played 124 tests and 181 ODIs. He hit 28 hundreds in tests and 27 in ODIs. His score of 311 not out in the test remains the highest score by a South African batter. He also holds numerous records for fastest run completion.
3. Ravi Bopara (England)
Ravinder Singh Bopara is a cricketer from England. He was in London with an Indian Sikh Punjabi family who immigrated to England. He made his ODI debut in Feb 2007 and was also a part of the 2007 world cup squad. He played a lot of county cricket, representing Essex and scoring 12,000+ runs. He played 133 international matches and scored 575 and 2,695 runs, respectively. He also has one of the best bowling figures of 4/38 in an ODI by an Englishmen.
4. Ish Sodhi (New Zealand)
Inderbir Singh Sodhi is an Indian-born New Zealand cricketer. He was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, to a Sikh family. The family moved to New Zealand when he was four years old. He plays as a leg spinner and a right-hand batsman in the team. He made his test debut in 2013 against Bangladesh, T20 debut in 2014 against West Indies, and ODI debut in 2015 against Zimbabwe. He was present in the squad during the 2019 world cup and the 2021 ICC Men's T20 world cup. He has played 18 tests taking 49 wickets which includes a five-wicket haul.
5. Stuart Clark (Australia)
Clark is a former Australian cricketer. Born in New South Wales, Clark has his origin in India. His father, Bruce Clark, lived in Chennai, and his mother, Mary, is from the Kolar Gold Mines in Karnataka, India. He has played 24 tests and 39 ODIs. In tests, he took 94 wickets with two five-wicket hauls. He has 54 wickets in ODIs with personal best figures of 4/54. He was a part of the Australian team that won the 2007 world cup, where he played six matches, taking 12 wickets. He was ranked the No.1 T20 bowler in 2018.
6. Jeetan Patel (New Zealand)
Jeetan Shashi Patel is a former cricketer from New Zealand. Patel belongs to a Gujarati family from Navsari, Gujarat. He played for New Zealand between 2005-2017 as a bowler. He played 24 tests taking 65 wickets, and 43 ODIs, taking 49 wickets. He has also taken 892 wickets in first-class cricket with ten ten-wicket hauls and 38 five-wicket hauls. He also served as the spin bowling coach of England's cricket team.
7. Rohan Kanhai (West Indies)
Rohan Kanhai is a former cricketer from West Indies. The Guyanese cricketer has high family roots in India. He played in the West Indies team that won the first world cup in 1975 and scored a half-century in the final. He has played 79 tests, hit 15 centuries and 28 half-centuries, and has a top score of 256. In the 7 ODIs that he played, he scored 164 runs. He was one of the greatest batsmen of his time, inspiring many cricketers such as Sunil Gavaskar.
8. Keshav Maharaj (South Africa)
The South African leg spinner, Keshav, born and brought up in Durban, is of Indian origin. His ancestors belonged to Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in India. To date, he has played 49 tests and taken 158 wickets, becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in South Africa. He is the second South African bowler to take a hat-trick in the test. He also captained the team in his T20 debut against Sri Lanka in 2021.
9. Ajaz Patel (New Zealand)
Born in Mumbai, India, Ajaz is recognized as a New Zealand bowler. The family moved to New Zealand in 1996, where Ajaz underwent coaching and started playing internationally in 2018. In the second test against India in 2021, he took all ten wickets in the innings, becoming only the third bowler to do so in 22 years after Anil Kumble in 1999 and Jim Laker in 1956. He is the only bowler to take the most wickets (14) in an inning yet end up on the losing side.
10. Ashish Bagai (Canada)
Ashish is a former Canadian cricketer and captain. He lived in Delhi, India till the age of 11 and studied at St. Columba’s school. Only three ODIs were played by Canada before his birth; after that, he played every ODI for Canada. He played 59 ODIs scoring 1,922 runs at an average of 38. He hit two centuries and 16 half-centuries and has a top score of 137 not out. Canada entered the 2011 world cup with Ashish as the captain.
