Cricketers who played for two different countries

Somerset v Middlesex - Vitality Blast
Somerset v Middlesex - Vitality Blast

It is not very often when you see a player representing two different countries and that too in an international arena. Cricket is considered to be a game of uncertainty. Anything can happen in the game of cricket. There have been instances where a player has represented two different countries on an international level.

This happens mainly because players have a tendency to migrate from one place to another and because of their passion for their cricket they are able to represent that country also to which they had migrated. Migration happens when players are not happy with their current position in life and they want to have a better life. So they migrate to countries where they can have a better lifestyle not only for themselves but also for their families.

It is their passion for cricket that helps them get into the national team of the country to which they had migrated. It has been seen that players who live and die for cricket can excel irrespective of the country that they represent. They possess the talent to not only get into the national team but also perform well at the same time.

In the following slides, we are going to see a list of players who played for 2 different countries at the international level

#1 Eoin Morgan (Ireland and England)

England v India - 2nd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series
England v India - 2nd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series

We know about Eoin Morgan from the fact that he is currently the captain of England in One-day and T20 Internationals. But many of us are ignorant of the fact that he started his international career by debuting for the Ireland team in 2006. He played for the Ireland team from 2006 to 2009. During this period he played 23 ODIs and even went on to score a hundred for Ireland.

From the age of 13, Morgan wanted to play for the England team and he had no shame in admitting that. Morgan's progression towards representing the senior England side continued when in May 2009 he was named in England's 14-man squad to face West Indies in a three-match ODI series and the 15-man squad for the World Twenty20. Morgan made his England debut in the second One Day International and also played in the third of the series.

#2 Luke Ronchi (Australia and New Zealand)

Pura Cup - Warriors v Bushrangers: Day 2
Luke Ronchi

Luke Ronchi is a wicketkeeper-batsman who plays international cricket for New Zealand. Before New Zealand, Ronchi represented the Australian side in international cricket. Ronchi was called up to the Australian team in 2008 during the tour of West Indies when their first choice wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was unable to play after breaking his finger.

In April 2013, Ronchi announced his intention to return to New Zealand so that he could qualify for the national team. He made his debut for the team on 31 May 2013 at Lord's, scoring a duck and taking three catches.

#3 Dirk Nannes (Netherlands and Australia)

Big Bash League - Scorchers v Thunder
Dirk Nannes

Dirk Nannes is a former Australian cricketer who played for the national teams of both Australia and Netherlands. He is one of those few players who has represented two countries at an international level. In 2008, he was named in the Netherlands team to play the ICC World Cup Qualifier tournament in South Africa but he withdrew his name from the squad because he was picked up by Delhi Daredevils and the IPL was to take place at the same time as ICC Trophy.

Nannes was called up to the Australian T20I team in August 2009, just two months after making his debut for the Netherlands. A one-day international debut followed that same month where Nannes picked up 1/20 against Scotland. Nannes played for Australia in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

#4 Roelof van der Merwe (South Africa and the Netherlands)

Somerset CCC Photocall
Somerset CCC Photocall

Roelof van der Merwe is a Netherland player who also played for South Africa before making his international debut for the Netherlands. Van der Merwe was selected in the South Africa Twenty20 squad for their two Twenty20 Internationals against Australia in March 2009.

In the second of these, he made his full debut, top scoring with 48 from 30 balls an innings that included four sixes, and taking a maiden international wicket of David Hussey he was awarded man of the match.

In 2015, van der Merwe moved to the Netherlands and went on to make his international debut for the Netherlands against Nepal in a four-match series. He was also selected for 2015 World T20 Qualifier after Vivian Kingma pulled out. He was also included in the Netherlands squad for the ICC World Twenty20.

#5 Kepler Wessels (Australia and South Africa)

Kepler Wessels of Northamptonshire
Kepler Wessels of Northamptonshire

Kepler Wessels is a former South African cricketer who captained South Africa before playing 24 tests for the Australian team. He made his international debut for Australia against England at Brisbane in 1982. He became the first South-African born person to play for Australia, and the 13th Australian player to score a century on debut.

With apartheid being removed from South Africa in 1991, the International Cricket Council unanimously removed the ban against playing South Africa. As a result, South Africa could now play Test and One-day international cricket. At the age of 34, Wessels was asked to captain the South African team because he had the experience of first class and international cricket.

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Edited by Vignesh Ananthasubramanian