Cricket has become a global sport in the last few decades as the international cricket governing body ICC has tried its best to take the sport to regions where it is not known much. There have been multiple occasions in the past where a sportsperson could not get enough opportunities to play for his nation and then he decides to turn up for another country using his parental connections.
Otherwise, the case is reverse. The parents have dual nationality which enables their son to play any of the countries. Even there have been instances where a family had to migrate to one nation to another, forcing the individual to succeed in the second country and not his birthplace. Cricket has seen many players turn up for two countries at the international level, but in this article, we will look at those six players who played cricket for a different nation at the U-19 level and then turned up for another country at the senior level.
6.Imran Tahir : Under 19 – Pakistan, International cricket – South Africa
Imran Tahir had grabbed the headlines with his amazing performance in IPL 2019. Tahir won his maiden IPL Purple Cap award while playing for MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings team.
Very few fans may know that Imran Tahir had made his international debut for South Africa in ICC World Cup 2011. 13 years before that, he was playing for his home country Pakistan at the U-19 level, picking up 16 wickets in 15 matches for them. Tahir also turned up for Pakistan in the 1998 U-19 World Cup, coincidentally played in South Africa.
5.Eoin Morgan : Under 19 – Ireland, International cricket – England
Eoin Morgan is one of the few players to lead a different country at the U-19 World Cup and captain another nation at the senior World Cup. The 2019 World Cup-winning captain led Ireland in the 2006 U-19 World Cup tournament.
Morgan finished as the highest run-scorer in that competition and soon started playing for England. The left-handed batsman has become a limited-overs specialist and will play for KKR in IPL 2020.
4.Colin de Grandhomme : Under 19 – Zimbabwe, International cricket – New Zealand
He now represents New Zealand, but Colin de Grandhomme looks back fondly at his experience at the #U19CWC with Zimbabwe in 2004.https://t.co/aEe8i7vVsK pic.twitter.com/FX9KMpFxmY
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) December 26, 2017
New Zealand’s all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme had performed exceptionally well against India earlier this year. His incredible performances for New Zealand so far have helped him fetch IPL contracts from Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Speaking of his U-19 cricket career, de Grandhomme began his journey as a part of the Zimbabwean team. He even played in the U-19 World Cup for them, where he managed to score 94 runs in six matches. However, he decided to shift to New Zealand soon and started playing domestic cricket for Auckland.
3.Garry Ballance : Under 19 – Zimbabwe, International cricket – England
Another player who played for Zimbabwe at the U-19 level and then represented another country at the senior level is the English top-order batsman Garry Ballance. He has starred for Yorkshire in county cricket.
But, there was a time when he was seen as the future of Zimbabwean cricket. Ballance played five matches for the African country in the 2006 U-19 World Cup, where he aggregated 137 runs. The left-handed batsman has majorly featured in Test matches only after moving to England.
2.Grant Elliott : Under 19 – South Africa, International cricket – New Zealand
From representing South Africa in the junior World Cup to knocking out the rainbow nation in the senior World Cup, Grant Elliott had come a long way in his international career.
The former Kiwi all-rounder will always be remembered for his epic knock against South Africa in the 2015 ICC World Cup semifinal match. Elliott was born in Johannesburg and the 41-year-old studied in the same college as Kagiso Rabada.
1.Jonathon Trott : Under 19 – South Africa, International cricket – England
Jonathon Trott was the backbone of the English team in the early 2010s. His consistency was unmatched, at least in the English side, but the right-handed batsman could have done the same job for South Africa.
Just like Garry Ballance, Trott played for an African country in the U-19 circuit and then turned up for England at the senior level. He had scored 156 runs in six U-19 matches for South Africa.
