With a humongous population, India has not only produced exceptionally skilled cricketers for herself but other countries as well. There have been several Indian-origin cricketers to play for other countries as well. If New Zealand has Ajaz Patel, Ish Sodhi, Rachin Ravindra etc in their ranks now, then England has had Mark Ramprakash, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara etc in their mix. Similarly, India-born cricketers have played for several other countries as well. So, it will not be inappropriate to list out some accomplished Indian-origin cricketers to play for other countries.
Hashim Amla (SA: 2004-19)
This Indian-origin cricketer had been a great servant of South African cricket whose father hailed from Surat, Gujarat. However, Amla was born and brought up in Durban, SA, and used to be the backbone of Proteas’ batting lineup. Coincidentally, he began his international career against India at Eden Gardens at the age of 21. A regular in the South African squad from 2004 to 2019, Amla has scored over 9,000 runs in Tests and more than 8,000 runs in ODIs.
Nasser Hussain (Eng: 1989-2004)
He was born in India, Chennai, to a Tamilian Muslim father and left for the UK at the age of 7. Hussain made his debut against Pakistan in an ODI in 1989 and never looked back till his retirement in 2003. In 1999, he became the captain of the English side in both Tests and ODIs until he relinquished the same in 2003. “The God of Cricket”, Sachin Tendulkar, in his autobiography “Playing It My Way” admitted that Hussain was one of the best captains in the world of cricket during his active years in international cricket. Known to be critical of the Asian community for not supporting their adopted country during cricket matches, Hussain’s momentous occasion as a captain came when he led a second-string England side to draw level the 2002 ODI series in India.
Dipak Patel (NZ: 1987-97)
This Gujarati cricketer was born in Kenya and played for New Zealand in 37 Tests and 75 ODIs in a career spanning a decade or so. The all-rounder came into prominence when the then Kiwis captain Martin Crowe opened the bowling with him in the ODI World Cup of 1992. He was very successful in cutting the flow of the runs in the initial 15 overs in the world cup when only two fielders were allowed outside the inner yard circle. At present, he is the spin bowling coach of the SRK-owned Kolkata Knight Riders franchise in the IPL.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI: 1994-2015)
Another cricketer with Indian roots whose family shifted base to West Indies early on. Raised in the Unity village of Guyana, Chanderpaul played for Windies from 1994 till 2015. Renowned for his ability to play the sheet anchor role to perfection, he reserved his best against India. With a peculiar batting stance, the southpaw was a thorn in the flesh for the Indian bowling attack. He has scored more than 20,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs.
Stuart Clark (Oz: 2005-09)
Now, you might wonder what is he doing in the list of Indian-origin cricketers. For the uninitiated, Clark belonged to an Anglo-Indian family in India, Chennai, as his father is from Chennai and his mother from KGF, Karnataka. He had a reasonably successful career as an Australian pace bowler, however, his late entry into international cricket, at 30, meant he could not prolong his career for more than 3 years or so. Yet, he got 94 Test and 53 ODI wickets at a decent bowling average of 24 and 28 respectively.
Monty Panesar (England: 2006-2013)
Hailing from a Sikh family, Monty Panesar’s parents migrated to England even before he was born. The Burton-born slow left-arm bowler has earned several nicknames for his ability to dictate terms while flinging those awe-inspiring tweakers. He forged a successful partnership with his teammate Graeme Swann, off-spinner, and scripted several victories for England, notably the 2012 Test series win on Indian soil. For his ability to deceive the batters with spin wizardry former England coach Duncan Fletcher had called him the “best finger spinner in the world”.
