In a country of 1.4 billion, not everyone gets this chance. So often, Indian players decide to go abroad in search of better opportunities and in the hope of getting to play on the biggest stage, the World Cup. In this list, we mention some of these Indian-origin players, some born in India and some abroad, who kept playing the gentlemen’s game and now are representing other countries in the ongoing ICC T20 Men’s World Cup.

1. Saurabh Netravalkar (USA)

The techie who engineered the win against Pakistan in the super over. He played India in the 2010 U19 World Cup, along with KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Jaydev Unadkat. An alumnus of Cornell University, he also works at Oracle.

2. Monank Patel (USA)

Monank, the captain of the USA team and the MOTM against Pakistan, was born in Anand, Gujarat. Before moving to the USA, he played for Gujrat’s U-16 and U-19 sides. He has also represented MI’s Emirates and NY franchises.

3. Harmeet Singh (USA) 

Touted as the next Bishen Singh Bedi, Harmeet was a part of the Indian U-19 World Cup winning team. Before moving to the USA, he played domestic cricket for Mumbai and Tripura and in IPL for Rajasthan Royals.

4. Nitish Kumar (USA)

Like his namesake, Nitish has also switched allegiance in the past. He was earlier a member of the Canada National Cricket Team and even played for them in the 2011 World Cup. Now he plays for the USA and was instrumental in yesterday’s win against Pakistan.

5. Milind Kumar (USA)

Remember the brilliant catch in the super over against Pakistan to dismiss Iftikhar Ahmed? It was Delhi-born Milind Kumar who took it. Domestically he played for Delhi and Sikkim and was also part of the RCB and Delhi Daredevils squad.

6. Nostusha Pradeep Kenjige (USA)

Chikkamagaluru boy Nostusha had the best bowling figures against Pakistan for his team. Though he was born in the USA, his parents immediately moved back to India a few months after his birth. He moved back to the USA, worked as a lab technician, and started playing cricket. He is now part of the national team.

7. Nisarg Patel (USA)

In addition to playing for the USA team, Ahmedabad-born Nisarg has a master’s in pharmaceutical sciences and works full-time with a medical research company. The left-arm spinner had moved to the USA in 2003.

8. Navneet Dhaliwal (Canada)

The opening batter for Canada was born in Chandigarh. He is one of the rare players who captained his side on his T20 International debut.

9. Pargat Singh (Canada)

Born in Rupnagar, Punjab, Pargat has played for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Now he is a valuable all-rounder for the Canadian side.

10. Dilpreet Bajwa (Canada)

Born in India, the 21-year-old all-rounder Dilpreet Bajwa is an integral part of the Canada team. After facing rejection to earn a state team seat, Bajwa and his family moved to Canada in 2020.

11. Alpesh Ramjani (Uganda)

Hailing from Mumbai, Ramjani moved to Uganda during COVID-19 after losing his job. He has been terrific for the Uganda National team and topped the list of most wickets in T20I cricket. He was included in the ICC T20 Team of the Year 2023. Apart from Alpesh, Ronak Patel and Dinesh Nakrani are also Indian-origin players in the Uganda team. 

12. Kashyap Prajapati (Oman)

Born in Kheda, Gujarat, Kashyap moved to Oman after repeated rejections from the state team. Now he’s the opening batter for the Oman cricket team.

Though their dreams of playing for India might not have come true, but they have never given up on their passion and are playing at the highest level from different countries. Now they are all set to show their talent to the whole world at the crown jewel of the game, the World Cup.