5 Cricketers Who have Played For Two Or More Countries
Jul 3, 2020 at 6:18 PM
Cricketers who have different birth and brought-up country can get easy access to play for those two countries. While there is also the Kolpak deal that offers the European Union (EU) countries players can play cricket in any EU country without being considered an overseas player. This has shifted the focus of several South African players to play for other countries like England.
However, in cricket history, so far, there have been 27 players who have represented two countries in the international game of cricket. Some have played across all the formats while some have only represented them in ODIs and T20I or only one of the formats.
Here, we have listed five famous players who have represented two or more countries:
Dirk Nannes- Netherland and Australia
Australia born cricketer Dirk Nannes burst into international cricket for the Netherland and represented them in ICC T20 World Cup 2009. After two months, he earned the call from the Australian team and made the debut for them in the ODI series against Scotland in August 2009.
The pacer was also included in the ICC T20 World Cup 2010 campaign where he came out as the highest wicket-taker for Australia. Overall, he has played two T20I for the Netherlands and 15 T20Is and single ODI for Australia.
He has also featured in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils. He last played a competitive match in 2016.
Eoin Morgan- Ireland and England
Last year, Ireland-born cricketer Eoin Morgan created history after leading England team to their maiden World Cup title. He has been the consistent performer for the English team and has, so far, represented them in 16 Test matches and 236 ODIs. He made the debut for them in 2009, but before that, he had shown his skills for Ireland national cricket team.
In 2006, Morgan played the first match for his home. He was the vital cog for them in 2007 world Cup where Ireland stunned England after defeating them. He has played 23 ODI matches for Ireland.
Kepler Wessels- South Africa and Australia
Kepler Wessels enjoyed success for both Australia and South Africa. He is the only cricketer to represent these two nations internationally. Wessels started his career for Australia in 1982 and played 24 Test matches for them. He then shifted his base to South Africa in 1989 but because of apartheid cricket was banned in Proteas. However, later in 1991, the ban was removed and they were allowed to play in ODIs as well as in Test cricket.
In the World Cup of 1992, Wessels was chosen to lead the South African team as a captain. He played 16 Test matches and 55 ODIs for them and retired from the game in 1994.
Luke Ronchi- Australia and New Zealand
Former cricketer Luke Ronchi was born in New Zealand and brought up in Australia. He has played four Tests, 85 ODIs and 33 T20Is during his international career. His explosive batting was best suited for limited over formats and therefore he could not cement his place in Tests.
With his impressive 2007-2008 season for West Australia, he was soon included in Australia national cricket team. In the fourth match of his career, he registered fourth-fastest fifty of Australia in ODIs. However, he had a promising start but soon he lost his form. Following this, he was sidelined by Australia’s team management.
Ronchi then shifted his cricket career for his birth country. He was soon picked up in the New Zealand national cricket team and become a vital cog for them with both bat and gloves. He was a member of the World Cup 2015 team who was the runner up of the event. He last played in ICC Champions 2017 and announced his retirement.
Abdul Hafeez Kardar:
Abdul Hafeez Kardar is one of the cricketers who have played for both India and Pakistan in the Test format. He represented the Indian team in three Tests on his tour of England in 1946. After partition in 1948, Kardar moved to Pakistan and made his Test debut for Pakistan in 1952 against India. He captained the Pakistan cricket team in its first 23 Test matches from 1952 to 1958