India has been one of the most successful nations in the world of cricket. India was the first country to win the ICC T20 World Cup. Also, India was the first nation to win the ICC World Cup on home soil. There are thousands of cricketers in India. However, not everyone is able to play for India. Some Indian families even migrate to other nations.
Many times it has happened that a cricketer belongs to one country but he plays for another country. Speaking of the family migration, sometimes, it happens that the cricketers are born in the country that they represent, but their parents or ancestors lived in other countries. Quite a few Indian origin cricketers have played for other nations.
While the BCCI does not allow its cricketers to play in foreign leagues, to date, four Indian origin players have turned up for teams in the Pakistan Super League. Here are those four cricketers.
1. One of the few Indian origin cricketers to have played for Lahore Qalandars – Samit Patel
Samit Patel is an Indian origin cricket player who represented England at the international level. Many fans would know that Samit is an ambidextrous all-rounder, who bats right-handed and bowls left-arm spin. Patel has played six Tests, 36 ODIs and 18 T20is for England.
In the Pakistan Super League, Patel has played for the Lahore Qalandars team. The 36-year-old has made a name for himself in the shortest format of the game, but to date, he has never got a chance to play in the Indian Premier League.
2. Sunil Narine
Another Indian origin cricket player who played for the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League is West Indies’ mystery spinner Sunil Narine. Like Samit Patel, Narine has not played international cricket for a while, but he is a regular player in the T20 leagues.
Narine has played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. His mystery spin has troubled many batsmen, and now he can also score runs quickly with the bat.
3. Denesh Ramdin
Denesh Ramdin is one more player of Indian origin who has been a part of the Lahore Qalandars team in the Pakistan Super League. Ramdin is a wicket-keeper batsman who has represented the West Indies cricket team at the global level.
Ramdin has played more than 200 T20 matches. However, like Samit Patel, the IPL franchises have not shown much interest in Ramdin’s services over the last 13 years.
4. The only one from the Indian origin cricketers to have played for Multan Sultans – Ravi Bopara
Ravi Bopara is an Indian origin all-rounder who played international cricket for England. Bopara is a pace-bowling all-rounder who has been a member of multiple IPL teams in his T20 career.
Bopara has the ability to hit the ball hard. He can also bowl right-arm medium pace and pick up some wickets for the team. As a result, the Multan Sultans had signed him in the Pakistan Super League. He played for Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2021 and scored 58 runs against Karachi Kings.
