5 greatest cricketers of Indian origin who played for other teams

With Boyd Rankin turning out for England in hopes of playing Test cricket in August this year, the focus of cricket lovers around the world shifted to the various occurrences where a player has gone on to represent a different nation other than the country of his birth.

Kepler Wessels, the Australian opener, ended up leading South Africa, where he was born, in the 1992 World Cup at the end of the apartheid regime.

Robin Jackman, familiar in Indian circles for his witty commentary, plied his trade for England despite being born in India. And Anderson Cummins represented both the West Indies and Canada in his time.

What makes such players leave those familial environments and go on to represent another land with pride and distinction?

For Kevin Pietersen, it was the prevalent racial quota system in SA that prompted him to shift base to England. The quest for the Holy Grail – playing Test cricket – drove Eoin Morgan to chuck playing for Ireland and throw in his lot with the British.

Money is another reason, though it is not as powerful as others. Some have achieved the success they dreamed of, while quite a few others have fallen by the wayside.

Here is a list of five great cricketers of Indian origin, who went on to have glittering careers for other nations:

5. Nasser Hussain (England)

Nasser Hussain setting the field in a Test match

One of the finest captains that England have ever had, Nasser Hussain, also known as Nashwan, was born in Madras (now Chennai) to an Indian Muslim father, Jawad (Joe) and an English mother. Joe had played first-class cricket for Tamil Nadu, and later moved with his family to Essex when Nasser was seven.

A talented leg-spin bowler, Hussain played alongside future England colleague and captain Mike Atherton during their school days, and after a growth spurt, switched his focus to batting.

He went on to establish himself at No.3 in the Test squad – a position that had long given the selectors plenty of migraines, and took over the captaincy from Alec Stewart in 1999, turning around the fortunes of the side with his imaginative field placements and lively approach to the leadership position.

Along with former greats Bob Willis, David Gower, Ian Botham and David Lloyd, Hussain joined the Sky Sports commentary team after his retirement, and also coaches at an independent school in Essex.

4. Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Hashim Amla raises his bat on completing a century

Currently ranked as the top batsman in Tests and ODIs, the bearded South African willow exponent has ancestral roots in India; his grandparents were originally from Surat, Gujarat.

Amla has been as steady as a rock for the Proteas’ line-up, holding the innings together at No.3, while also performing opening duties in the ODI arena. Technically sound and blessed with immaculate footwork, he has scored a plethora of runs all over the world since his debut in 2004.

He seems to reserve his best for India – scores of 159 and 253 not out are a clear reflection of his dominance over his ancestors’ birth nation. Since then, the soft-spoken cricketer has only gone from strength to strength, and was announced as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2013.

3. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

For most fans around the world, the left-handed Chanderpaul is known for three things: his unorthodox batting stance, his habit of marking his guard with a bail, and his sponsored face paint (two black patches on each cheek).

All of this belies one fact – his immense talent with the willow and ability to soldier on doggedly despite ruins all around him.

Shiv also comes from a long line of Indo-Guyanese cricketers who have gone on to represent the West Indies in the international arena with much success.

His front-on stance while batting has been often described as being crab-like, but it has proven to be effective, especially against left-arm spinners.

However, it is his ability to stick at the crease for long hours that frustrates opposition teams to no end. This has resulted in substantial scores all throughout his career, and he has even led the West Indies team in thirty international games – 14 Tests and 16 ODIs.

Notably, he is also the only Indo-Caribbean cricketer to have played 100 Test matches, and the most easily recognizable of the lot in recent times.

2. Alvin Kallicharran (West Indies)

Alvin Kallicharran in action against Australia

Watchful and elegant at the crease, Alvin Kallicharran also hails from the Indo-Guyanese stable of Caribbean cricket greats. He was a regular feature in the national side between 1972 and 1981, and also turned out for Warwickshire in English county cricket.

Kallicharran exuded a sense of calmness at the wicket, exhibiting his full repertoire of shots off either foot. His greatest innings in Test cricket came against England – a stroke filled 158, but it was shrouded in controversy after captain Tony Greig ran him out, though the decision was overturned the next day.

Alvin considered defecting to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, but after Clive Lloyd’s resignation, he stepped up as captain of the national team.

He was eventually dropped from the side in 1981, mostly owing to his leading an unofficial rebel tour to South Africa in defiance of the Gleneagles Agreement and anti-apartheid protesters.

Upon this, he moved to England where he played till 1990, along with fellow teammate Collis King. He manages the Lashings World XI team and has also held several training sessions in the United States. His nephew, Mahendra Nagamootoo, has also turned out for the national side.

1. Rohan Kanhai (West Indies)

Rohan Kanhai batting in a Test match

Widely regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world in the sixties, Rohan Bholalall Kanhai is also a part of the famed Indo-Guyanese stable of West Indies cricket players.

Indeed, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has stated that Kanhai was the greatest batsman he had ever seen, and named his son after the Caribbean master.

Kanhai’s batting style contained plenty of unorthodox shots; notable among them was the ‘falling hook’, where he finished his follow-through lying on his back.

He was also an occasional wicket-keeper, and a handy medium-pacer. It was his steady half century in the World Cup final of 1975 that paved the way for a blazing innings by Clive Lloyd; at 40, the grey-haired batsman still had plenty of gas left in his tank.

He became captain of the West Indies after Garry Sobers, infusing more determination and resolve in the team, and also became the squad’s first ever national cricket coach in 1992.