Indian origin cricketers playing in other countries

It is said that no matter where you go on earth you will find an Indian. During the colonial era many people from our country were taken to work as laborers in the other colonies of the British like the islands in the West Indies and South Africa and they never returned. After Independence many Indians also went to countries like England, the US, Canada and Australia in search of better opportunities. Now the children of these people are representing these countries in various sports with cricket being a prominent name since it is a game that comes easily to Indians. Today’s discussion shall focus on cricketers who could have played for India had their forefathers not left this country.

 

Indian origin cricketers in Australia and New Zealand

At the moment Jeetan Patel is the only Indian origin cricketer of note playing around the Tasman Sea. A capable off spinner he is also really good in the field and is dependable with the bat. My personal opinion is that he would have been a good addition to the present Indian team but I am not sure if he would have been a fixture in the first XI.

 

There are a couple of promising players in this region who could have played for India – Gurinder Sandhu of Australia and Ish Sodhi from New Zealand. Sandhu is a fantastic seamer who is being tipped to one day don the baggy green and with his bounce and discipline he would have been a great addition to the Indian pace attack. Sodhi is a good legspinner who is rated highly by none other than Daniel Vettori and that shows his quality.

 

Indian origin cricketers in England and South Africa

Probably the finest cricketer in this group would have to be Hashim Amla, A consummate gentleman and professional he is the best batsman in the South Africa team as far as consistent performances are concerned and that is a major achievement in a team that has the likes of De Villiers, Smith, Duminy as well as a certain Jacques Kallis. With him in the Indian team I do not think they would miss Sachin and Dravid but then it’s only a wish!

 

In England at present Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Monty Panesar are the most prominent cricketers of Indian origin. A decent bowler and a very good fielder, Bopara’s main suit is his batting where he would have been an asset for the Indian team, at least in the limited overs format. Samit is an explosive batter as well as a handy left arm spinner who would have been a good fit in the one day team with his allround skills. Panesar, who destroyed India last year in unison with Swann, is a very capable left armer in his own right and was once the frontline spinner for England. He would have been a good foil for Ojha and Ashwin in the test team because of his skiddy bowling style.

 

Indian origin cricketers in West Indies

 West Indies has always had a whole assembly line of quality cricketers of Indian origin many of whom – like Sonny Ramadhin, Rohan Kanhai – have achieved greatness and others like Alvin Kallicharran who have been magnificent contributors to the cause of Windies cricket. In the present team there are at least 5 players who India would be happy to have in its team – Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Ravi Rampaul, Devendra Bishoo and Sunil Narine.

 

Chanderpaul is a legend in his own right and together with Brian Lara has been one of the inspirational cricketers in the Caribbean Islands. Sarwan from Guyana is a silky batsman who was once regarded as the next big thing but has since not been able to live up to that promise. Still, he is among the leading performers for the Windies. Rampaul, a bustling fast bowler from Trinidad, has been a top performer as well and has led the pace attack for years.

 

Sunil Narine is a highly rated offspinner who has found his niche in one day and Twenty20 cricket and is highly sought after in domestic T20 leagues around the world. Devendra Bishoo is a very good legspinner who was the find for the West Indies team in the 2011 World Cup but is presently out of the team, which is a bit of surprise for me.

 

I have a belief that one day every cricket team in the world except Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will have a player or two of Indian origin and that would be a day of pride for me as an Indian.

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