Top Seven Cricketers who played cricket for two countries

Right from childhood, every cricketer has a dream to represent his nation at the highest level. They put in tremendous hard work in pursuit of their dream every day. While there are some players who achieve their dream of playing for their country at the international level, some end up going a step further.

The rich history of cricket is filled with many cricketers who went on to play not for one but two countries in their careers. Let’s take a look at seven such cricketers who began their career with one nation but ended up playing for some other country later on:

1. Eoin Morgan (Ireland and England):

Eoin Morgan (Source: Twitter)

The first name that pops up in every cricket fan’s mind has to be Eoin Morgan. The southpaw represented Ireland at the U17 and U19 levels and also captained the country at the 2004 U19-World Cup. His most notable moment for the Irish player is being a part of the team that beat Pakistan at the 2007 ODI world cup.

Shortly after, Morgan began to play county cricket in England and impressed the English selectors with his big-hitting ability. As a result, he was selected in England’s 30-man probable team for the 20-20 world cup in 2010.

But the cricketer had to quit playing for Ireland in order to get into the team. Morgan decided to go ahead with the decision, which later turned out to be a historical moment in English cricket as he led them to their first-ever world cup win in 2019.

2. Jofra Archer (West Indies and England):

Jofra Archer (Source: Twitter)

Jofra Archer was born in Barbados and was among the most promising youngsters in the West Indies at the U-19 level. The seamer suffered a serious back injury during his u-19 days which forced him to go out of action for some time. However, after his recovery, the West Indies Cricket Board failed to utilize his talent.

Archer began playing the Big Bash League for Hobart Hurricanes and caught everyone’s attention with his serious pace and athleticism. Being continuously ignored by his home Cricket Board, Archer shifted his base to play county cricket and was welcomed by the ECB. The speedster went on to become an integral part of English Cricket history as he bowled the nerve-wracking super over in the World Cup 2019 final and helped his team to win their first ever 50-over World Cup.

3. Dirk Nannes (the Netherlands and Australia):

Dirk Nannes (Source: Twitter)

Dirk Nannes was a fiery left-arm seamer who made his first-class debut for Victoria during the 2005–06 season, aged 29. Nannes had decent success in the domestic first-class and one-day tournaments, which lead him to a stint with English county side Middlesex during the 2008 season. Holding Dutch citizenship through his parents, Nannes went on to represent the Netherlands in the 2009 20-20 World Cup.

He was called up by the Australian team in August 2009 just two months after the 20-20 World Cup. He further continued his cricketing dream by playing for Australia as he represented the nation in the 2010 20-20 World Cup where he was also the highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

4. Kepler Wessels (Australia and South Africa):

Kepler Wessels (Source: Twitter)

Kepler Wessels was one of the first Afrikaans people to choose Cricket over rugby in South Africa. As South Africa was banned from International cricket in 1970 by the apex cricket body due to apartheid, Wessels was forced to look for other countries to pursue his cricketing dreams. His love for cricket made him play for Australia as he made his debut in the 1982 Ashes series down under.

After the ban was lifted and South Africa was allowed to play Test matches, Wessels came back to play for the country of his birth. He further led South Africa in the 1992 World Cup where he took them to the semi-finals but they lost due to some controversial rules. He announced his retirement in 1994 and took up commentary.

5. Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (India and England):

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (Source: Twitter)

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi is remembered as one of the greatest captains in Indian Cricket history. Tiger Pataudi, as he was famously called, played for Sussex and Oxford while studying in England. Pataudi met a fatal car accident that severely damaged his right eye and put him in danger of ending his cricketing career.

But the Nawab of Pataudi went on to play for India despite having trouble viewing from his right eye and also captained the team to nine Test victories. The finest innings of his career came against Australia in Melbourne in 1967-68 where he scored 75 with one eye while standing on one leg.

6. Luke Ronchi: (Australia and New Zealand)

Luke Ronchi (Source: Twitter)

Luke Ronchi was born in New Zealand and brought up in Australia. He’s the only cricketer to play for both Australia and New Zealand in the history of cricket. He made his debut for Australia in a T20I against West Indies in June 2008. After a promising start to his Australia career, he lost his form which led him to be dropped from the national as well as his state team.

He then went back to his birth country and became eligible to play for New Zealand in 2013. He was involved in a record-breaking 6th wicket stand of 267 with Grant Elliott where they ripped apart the Sri Lankan bowling attack. He was also a part of New Zealand’s 2015 World Cup team which ended up as the runner-up of the tournament.

7. Imran Tahir (Pakistan and South Africa):

Imran Tahir (Source: Twitter)

Imran Tahir was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and represented the nation at the U19 level and was also a part of Pakistan A side. However, due to immense competition in the spin department, Tahir couldn’t represent Pakistan at the International level. In 2005, aged 26, Tahir became a resident of South Africa and became eligible to play for the country in 2009.

He made his ODI debut at the 2011 World Cup against West Indies. Since then, he became the premier spinner and was also one of the only bowlers to be ranked no. 1 in ODI and T20I simultaneously.

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