Cricketers Who Left Their Country Due To The Lack Of Opportunities And Went On To Become Greats

We have seen on a plethora of instances in the past where cricketers have to leave their homeland due to the lack of opportunities in the domestic circle. And, we have often seen, the adopted nations reaping the benefits of those precocious talents.

Here’s a look at cricketers who left their country due to lack of opportunities and became greats for another country:

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Jonathan Trott

Born and brought up in Cape Town, South Africa, Jonathan Trott represented the Proteas at the U-15 and U-19 level before he decided to move to England in 2003 and use his British passport to play county cricket for Warwickshire.

Trott was finally eligible to play for England in 2007 where he made his debut in T20I format in 2007. Jonathan Trott proceeded to become a bedrock of the English team for the next six years, scoring 3835 runs in 52 Tests and 2819 runs in 68 ODIs at an average of 44.08 and 51.25 respectively before his career was unfortunately cut short due to stress-related illness.

Luke Ronchi

Ronchi made his debut for Australia back in 2008 and represented the Kangaroo nation in 4 ODIs and three T20Is before he lost his place to the likes of Tim Paine and Brad Haddin.

With his career going nowhere, Ronchi decided to switch to the other side of Tasman to enhance his opportunities. He made his international debut for the Kiwis in 2013 and went on to forge a successful career with them, before finally calling it quits in 2017.

Jofra Archer

He is the hottest property in world cricket today but imagine what would have been, had West Indies cricket ably nurtured the talent that is Jofra Archer.

Due to the lack of opportunities in Barbados, Archer, who has represented West Indies at the U-19 level, decided to try his luck [his mother had an English passport] with England. His fellow West Indian-born English paced Chris Jordan recommended him to his club Sussex, and Archer’s natural ability captured the imagination of the club owners instantly.

The first-Class debut was soon followed by opportunities in white-ball cricket but despite his exploits in the English county circuit, it was Archer’s performance for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash that propelled him to instant fame.

An IPL contract soon followed and Archer soon became the talk of the town, and so much so, that the ECB steadfast their process and changed its rules towards expats, meaning the Barbados-born fast bowler soon became eligible to play for England.

Jofra Archer made his debut for England across all formats of the game in 2019. You know the rest.

Imran Tahir

South Africa has lost a lot of world-beating talents owing to their quota system, but for a change, the lack of opportunities for a cricketer in another country, proceeded to be their biggest gain in the form of leg-spinner Imran Tahir.

Tahir had represented Pakistan at the U-19 and A level but lack of opportunities forced him to ply his trade for South Africa. Tahir married a South African woman and soon became eligible to play for the rainbow nation in 2011 after having met the residency requirements.

Imran Tahir made his debut during the 2011 World Cup against the West Indies and for a better part of the decade, went on to spearhead the South African spin-bowling attack. The Pakistani born-South African represented the rainbow nation in 20 Tests, 107 ODIs, and 38 T20Is, claiming 57, 173, and 63 wickets respectively.

Eoin Morgan

When Eoin Morgan burst on the scene as a precociously talented Irish teenager in 2006, no one in their wildest dreams would have thought that in a decade or so he would be leading a whirlwind revolution in English white-ball cricket; one that would culminate with him holding the World Cup Trophy- the first English captain to do so- at the home of cricket Lord’s in the summer of 2019.

Morgan was a part of the Irish team that made its way to the Super-8s in the 2007 World Cup. But it was his exploits for England Lions in a tour game against South Africa that proved to be the turning point in his career.

Morgan soon quit playing for Ireland after he was named in the England 15-man squad for the 2009 World T20. The current English white-ball captain soon made his ODI debut during the 2009 Champions Trophy where he kept wickets in place of Matt Prior.

The Irish-born Englishman impressed with a couple of half-centuries and soon went on to become a permanent member of the white-ball teams. Morgan was handed the reigns of the English team ahead of the eventually disastrous 2015 World Cup campaign.

Morgan then proceeded to lead a whirlwind revolution in English ODI cricket, and the rest, as they say, is history as he went on to become another cricketer who became a great for his adopted cricket nation.

Kevin Pietersen

Imagine KP and AB batting together for South Africa! Phew! That would have been something, but for the ridiculous quota system in the rainbow nation.

Kevin Pietersen was left out of the Natal side during his nascent playing days. Frustrated by the quota system, KP decided to ply his trade in England- his mother’s place of birth- and in the spring of 2001, started playing for Nottinghamshire.

KP eventually made his debut in 2005 and went on to become one of the most decorated cricketers that the game has ever seen.

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