Kolkata: It’s a dream of any young budding cricketer to play for his country. Over the years thousands have gone on to represent their country and fulfill their dreams. In a country like India or even England or Australia, there is a huge amount of talent, and not all get the right opportunity to showcase their skills and don the jersey for their respective countries.
It is quite difficult for any cricketer to play for a country apart from his home nation. Where playing for one nation itself is a dream come true for an athlete, there are some big names in the history of cricket who have gone on to play for two nations. There few cricketers who have taken this decision due to a lack of opportunity in their country. While there are few players who have lived up to expectations for their home nation, then go on representing another country.
Here’s a list of players who have played cricket for two different countries:
Eoin Morgan (England & Ireland)
Eoin Morgan is one of the finest middle-order batsmen to have represented two countries in cricket. Born and brought up in Ireland, Morgan made his debut for Ireland in 2006. He went on to impress everyone with his limited performances for the Irish amassing 744 runs from the 23 games.
Morgan switched allegiance and made his England debut against the West Indies in 2009 and featured in their successful T20 World Cup campaign in the same year. However, his crowning moment came in 2019, when he led England to their first-ever 50-over World Cup win beating New Zealand in the final. Overall, he has played 16 Tests, 243 ODIs and 102 T20Is. Morgan is currently England’s all-time leading run-scorer in ODIs, having amassed 7620 runs at a batting average of 39.48.
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi (India & England)
Arguably one of India’s greatest ever captains, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi was also named as the Indian Cricketer of the Year in 1946. He was born into the family of the Nawabs of Pataudi in Delhi and played Tests for England between 1932 and 1934, making him one of the few cricketers to have played Test cricket for two countries, and the first cricketer to represent India and England both. He played in six Tests in all, three as captain of India and three for England. His son Mansoor, known as the Nawab of Pataudi Jr, also served as captain of India and they were the only father-son pair to have captained India.
Keppler Wessels (South Africa & Australia)
Kepler Wessels enjoyed success for both Australia and South Africa. Wessels started his career for Australia in 1982 and played 24 Test matches for them. He made his debut for South Africa in 1989. In the World Cup of 1992, Wessels was chosen to lead the South African team. He played 16 Test matches and 55 ODIs for them and retired from the game in 1994. Wessels played 50 matches each for both the countries and is also the only player to score more than 1000 runs for both the countries.
Born in New Zealand and brought up in Australia, Luke Ronchi became a cricket icon by representing both countries. He has played four Tests, 85 ODIs and 33 T20Is during his international career. He was famous for explosive batting skills in limited-over formats.
Abdul Hafeez Kardar (Pakistan and India)
Abdul Hafeez Kardar is regarded as the ‘Father of Pakistan cricket’. He is one of the cricketers who have played for both India and Pakistan in the Test format. Prior to India’s independence, Kardar played for the Indian team. He represented India in three Tests. Post-independence, he moved to play for Pakistan in 1952. He was the first captain of the Pakistan cricket team. Kardar captained Pakistan in its first 23 Test matches from 1952 to 1958.
