10 cricketers who have or could have played for another country

Cricket is one of the most popular games on the planet. The game, apart from the countries where it is played currently, is gaining a widespread following in newer territories. As a matter of fact, many passionate players shift to other countries in search of better cricketing avenues.

Over the course of its long tradition, cricket has had many such players. These players, generally, need to acquire the citizenship of their latest home in order to play for it. Here we take a look at 10 such cricketers who have or could have played for another country.

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#10 Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan is probably one of the brightest prospects in store for England. The right arm pacer, who generates a fair amount of pace, not only is a trump card in the death overs but is also a valuable asset to the team owing to his all-rounding skills.

Jordan was born in Barbados. Both his parents too belonged to Barbados whereas his grandparents were British citizens. After completing his initial education from Bridgetown, Barbados, he eventually moved to England to complete his formal education at Dulwich college which offered him a sports scholarship.

After making his debut for Surrey in 2007 and constantly delivering some good performances, the fast bowler broke onto the international scene with his first appearance for England against Australia. He has represented England in 8 Tests, 31 ODIs, and 26 T20s and picked up 21, 43, and 31 wickets respectively.

#9 Ed Joyce

The southpaw represented both England and Ireland in international cricket

Ed Joyce is the first Irishman to have represented both England and Ireland in international cricket. The talented southpaw, who is considered as one of the best cricketers produced by Ireland, was a member of the English squad for the 2007 ICC World Cup and the 2006-07 Ashes.

Joyce, however, decided to move back to his home country, Ireland, after he couldn't enforce himself into a tightly-packed English side. Joyce received special dispensation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to represent Ireland in the 2011 World Cup. Since then, the left-handed batsman has been serving the Irish squad and is a key member of their team.

Joyce played 71 ODIs combinedly for England and Ireland and amassed 2349 runs at an average of 36.14.

#8 Boyd Rankin

The tall left-arm pacer served England as well as Ireland

The tall left-arm fast bowler from Ireland has the potential to make a batsman's life tough with the awkward bounce and lateral movement that he generates. Born in Londonderry, Ireland, Rankin hailed from a cricket-loving family.

Owing to his bowling prowess, he quickly rose up the ranks and soon debuted for Ireland in 2007. He, however, came into reckoning with his fiery spells in the 2007 ICC World Cup where he claimed 12 wickets.

Aspiring to emerge as a world-renowned bowler, Rankin, in August 2012, stated that he would start playing cricket for England. He even represented England in one Test in the 2013-14 Ashes. However owing to the limited opportunities, Rankin once again decided that he would resume playing cricket for Ireland.

Rankin has played a total of 46 ODIs and 26 T20s for both Ireland and England and has picked up 57 and 28 wickets respectively.

#7 Matt Renshaw

The Queenslander was born in Yorkshire in England

One of Australia's brightest cricketing prospects in store, Matt Renshaw was born in Yorkshire, England. His family had moved to New Zealand when he was seven years old and finally shifted to Australia when he turned ten.

Renshaw was brought up in Queensland and played most of his cricket there. After impressing the national selectors with some consistent runs, the tall southpaw was named in the squad facing South Africa in 2016. Renshaw got to make his debut in the third Test of the series and gave everyone a glimpse of his immense potential and talent.

The marking point in his career, however, came when he scored a brilliant 184 against Pakistan at the SCG in 2016. He even showed character on the India tour where he skillfully faced the world-class spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja.

Renshaw represented Australia in 10 Test matches thus far and has 623 runs to his credit.

#6 Eoin Morgan

The current limited over skipper of England hails from Ireland

Arguably the greatest cricketer produced by Ireland thus far, Eoin Morgan is currently a pivotal member of the English limited overs team. The fiery left-hander made his cricketing debut for Ireland against Scotland in 2006. With the hope of making it bigger on the world stage, Morgan decided to play for England from 2009.

Thanks to his batting brilliance, Morgan soon emerged as a key member of the English squad. Eventually, he was even made the captain of the ODI team in 2014 and is credited with building the "new-look" aggressive English team. In fact, he is the only England captain to score more than 4 ODI centuries. Apart from ODIs, the swashbuckling batsman leads the team in the T20s as well.

Morgan played 190 ODIs for Ireland and England to date and has amassed 5801 runs at a decent average of 37.92.

#5 Paul Harris

The tall left-arm spinner was born in Rhodesia

The former left-arm spinner from South Africa was born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe now). His father was a member of the British South Africa Poice in Rhodesia until 1980. As a young child, Harris was brought to Cape Town, South Africa where he played most of his cricket.

Making his debut for Western Province B in 1998, Harris fell into the selectors' radar with some noteworthy performances. When South Africa were on the lookout for a quality spinner after Nicky Boje's retirement, Harris seemed as a viable option.

He was handed over his maiden cap against India in 2007 and he did not disappoint as he scalped many priced Indian wickets including that of Sachin Tendulkar. He went on to deliver some consistent performances for the Proteas before encountering a dip in form and eventually retiring.

Harris represented South Africa in a total of 37 Tests in which he accounted for 103 wickets.

#4 Andrew Strauss

The former English captain was born in South Africa

One of England's most popular captains, Andrew Strauss was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He moved to England at the age of six. As a matter of fact, Strauss, during his early career, spent a couple of years in Sydney and Adelaide in Australia and even had a brief first-grade cricketing stint over there.

Strauss, after making his debut for Middlesex in 1998, scored many runs to come into the reckoning of the national selectors. The southpaw debuted for England against Sri Lanka in 2003 and went on to represent his country for the next nine years.

Over the due course of time, Strauss, with his prolific run scoring, emerged as one of England's finest openers in the game. He even captained the team successfully and even managed to win the Ashes in 2009 and 2011.

The man from Middlesex played a total of 100 Tests and 127 ODIs and ended up scoring 7037 runs and 4205 runs respectively.

#3 Kevin Pietersen

The aggressive batsman was born in South Africa

One of the most influential batsmen of the modern era, Kevin Pietersen, was born in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa. The right-handed batsman played a fair amount of domestic cricket in South Africa before being noticed by Clive Rice who invited him to sign for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.

KP, as he's popularly known, grew strength to strength and soon found himself facing the Aussies in the 2005 Ashes. Pietersen, with his aggressive and confident strokeplay, caught the eyeballs of everyone and went on to play a crucial role in England's 2005 Ashes win.

Pietersen soon emerged as a force to be reckoned with as he demolished oppositions one after another. Be it the on seaming pitches in England, or on the pacy tracks of Australia and South Africa, or even on the spin conducive pitches of the subcontinent, KP left his mark everywhere. He is still regarded as one of the most flamboyant players to have played for England.

Pietersen represented England in a total of 104 Tests and 136 ODIs and ended up scoring 8181 runs 4440 runs respectively.

#2 Ish Sodhi

Ish Sodhi was born in the Indian city of Ludhiana

New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi was born in Ludhiana in the state of Punjab in India. His parents moved to South Auckland in New Zealand when Sodhi was young. After being introduced to cricket, Sodhi put in a lot of effort and perseverance to deliver consistent results for his domestic teams and eventually make it into the New Zealand team.

His debut came against Bangladesh in a Test match played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in 2013. Sodhi soon made a mark for himself with his skilful display of leg-break bowling and was awarded a spot in the ODI as well as the T20 squads.

Currently, a vital cog in the team's spin department, Sodhi has represented the Kiwis in 14 Tests and 18 ODIs and has picked up 38 wickets and 19 wickets respectively.

#1 Ben Stokes

Stokes was born in Christchurch in New Zealand

One of England's biggest superstars currently, Ben Stokes is a New Zealander by birth. Stokes was born in Christchurch in New Zealand. His father, who was a rugby player and coach, moved to England when Ben was quite young.

Stokes soon debuted for Durham in 2009 and created ripples in the domestic circles with his cricketing abilities. As a matter of fact, his parents, who had moved back to New Zealand, currently stay in Christchurch.

The all-rounder soon found himself in the English team and quickly emerged to be deemed as one of the finest all-rounders of the modern era. Be it with the bat, or the ball, or even in the field, Stokes makes his presence felt in each aspect of the game.

The man, who is currently in the midst of an unfortunate controversy, represented England in 39 Tests and 62 ODIs and scored 2429 runs and 1650 runs respectively thus far. His current wicket tally boasts of 95 wickets and 53 wickets in the respective formats.