8 cricketers who came from different countries than their current national team

World cricket has undergone drastic changes over the years. The game that celebrates the beautiful blend of skill and talent has always shown an attractive eye for cricketers who have taken the world by surprise. Brimming with joy and happiness, fans trickle into the stands as their favourite teams lock horns against each other on the cricketing turf.

It is not a surprise that a lot of players have gone on to represent different nations despite being born in another country. Boasting their family roots from a specific geographical territory, the cricketing administrative boards do not think twice to embrace these prodigies in their star-studded side. The likes of Andrew Strauss along with Kepler Wessels smartly made into this rare-list of players back in the days.

On that note, this article emphasises on the professional cricketers who broke into the national team owing to their sheer wits and cricketing brains. Interestingly, all the heavyweights mentioned below are match-winners for their respective countries.

Let us peek into the names:

1. Imran Tahir

Born in Lahore in 1979, Imran Tahir had greatness written all over his skilful wrist. Taking the world by surprise, the spin-king bowled brilliantly given a chance to perform on the 22 yards. Eventually, he even went on to represent the Pakistan U19 team and was also a part of the Pakistan A side on some tours. However, he failed to make the transition to the next stage.

As things unfolded, Tahir had a persistent rough patch in his illustrious life. Pakistan was blessed with some quality spinners and Tahir never really made his mark at the senior level to warrant a selection. The former No.1 bowler in T20I and ODI took long strides as his fortune had a different tale altogether.

Debuting for South Africa in 2011, he has plucked 57 wickets in 20 Test matches since then. Bagging 173 and 63 wickets in 107 ODI and 38 T20Is respectively, Tahir broke into the limelight and became a mainstay in the Proteas in both ODIs and T20s respectively.

Hence, the leg-spinner continues to represent the South African team with sheer pride and respect. Therefore, the wily spinner has etched various milestones as he roars down with a classic trademark celebration.