Best XI of players not playing for their own country in T20 World Cup 2021

Various cricketing nations are rather unlucky to see their players playing for someone else.

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David Wiese
David Wiese. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Representing one’s country is a matter of pride. Everyone dreams of making their nation proud. However, not everyone gets to do that. Due to several reasons such as financial issues, poor lifestyle, and lack of opportunities, we see people migrating.

When it comes to cricket, we have seen cricketers migrating or shifting their base to another country. As a matter of fact, several cricketers have played for their country of origin as well as the country they are residing in right now.

Various cricketing nations are rather unlucky to see their players playing for someone else. Even in the ongoing T20 World Cup, several players aren’t playing for their own team. So if one were to make a XI consisting of such players, who’d make it into this side?

In the article, let’s take a look at the best XI of cricketers not playing T20 World Cup for their own country

1) Devon Conway (WK)

Devon Conway
Devon Conway. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Devon Conway is currently one of the best Kiwi batters in their T20I squad. However, he is originally a South African by birth. The wicketkeeper-batter was born in Johannesburg.

He has also played for African teams such as the Gauteng and the Lions. He migrated to New Zealand because he wasn’t making an impact in FC cricket for SA. This was a massive step as he took a lot of financial and monetary risks.

Three years after leaving SA, he made his debut for New Zealand. He has never looked back since then. There are a lot of expectations from the aggressive top-order batter ahead of the T20 World Cup.

2) Glenn Phillips

Glenn Phillips
Glenn Phillips. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Like Conway, Glenn Phillips too has his roots in SA. He was born in East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. However, he migrated to NZ when he was just 5.

Ironically he went on to replace Colin Munro from the NZ T20I squad. Munro himself is originally from SA as well. However, Phillips has been an absolute beast for NZ ever since he made his debut for them.

Phillips is now an integral part of the Kiwis’ T20I side. He has scored 505 runs in 25 T20I games. His batting average and strike rate in this format are 28.06 and 149.41, respectively.

3) Dawid Malan

Dawid Malan of England hits out
Dawid Malan of England hits out. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Although Dawid Malan was born in London, he moved to South Africa with his parents when he was just seven. He even represented Boland and made his FC debut for them. “I grew up in South Africa” is what Malan once said in an interview.

Those who have heard him speak would know about his accent which draws a lot of similarities to a South African. However, he then moved back to the country of his birth, i.e. England. He then went on to make his T20 debut against the Proteas itself in 2017.

The number one ranked T20I batsman in the world has barely put a foot wrong since then. He is one of the best T20I batters currently. He yet remains one of England’s key players in this T20 World Cup.

4) Ryan Ten Doeschate

Ryan ten Doeschate
Ryan ten Doeschate. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Ryan ten Doeschate is one of the greatest players from an associate nation to have played the game. The Dutch batter has made a fine reputation for himself. However, he has his roots in South Africa.

He was born in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province. The Netherlands batsman initially pursued a career with Western Province. However, owing to his Dutch descent he was able to represent Netherlands.

He then made his debut for the Netherlands in 2006. The former Dutch skipper has been an asset to his team. He will no doubt go in the history books as one of the greatest batters from an associate nation.

5) Eoin Morgan (C)

Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan of England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images for ECB)

Eoin Morgan is Irish by birth. As a matter of fact, he even went on to play for Ireland as well. The English skipper made his international debut for Ireland in 2006.

The middle-order batter scored a superb 99 on his debut against Scotland too. It was only in 2009 when he made his debut for England. He has now made a legacy for himself and is now well and truly an English legend.

The aggressive batter has been appreciated by the cricket pundits for his audacious approach. He is currently leading the English side in the T20 World Cup as well. Despite his poor form with the bat, a lot depends on him if England are to win the tournament.

6) Mark Chapman

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND – FEBRUARY 07: Mark Chapman. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Mark Chapman is currently in the New Zealand squad for the T20 World Cup. However, he has his roots in Hong Kong. He even made his international debut for Hong Kong in 2014.

He went on to score a 100 on his debut against the UAE too. It was in the 2015-2016 season when he made his FC debut for Auckland. As he was holding a dual passport, he was eligible to play for New Zealand as well.

Thus, he made his debut for the Kiwis in 2018. The all-rounder has made big strides in cricket since then. It will be exciting to see if he does manage to get a game in this edition of the T20 WC.

7) David Wiese

David Wiese
David Wiese. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

The number of South Africans who have played for another country is too high. One could make a separate XI of players who have migrated from SA to another country as well. David Wiese is another fine example of how the Proteas missed an opportunity of witnessing another supremely talented player playing more cricket for them.

The dynamic all-rounder made his international debut for SA in 2013. He went on to play 26 T20Is and 6 ODIs for them respectively. In the process, he went on to play for as many as 14 T20 franchises.

However, he now represents Namibia and is playing for them in the ongoing T20 WC. His contributions have been significant with respect to Namibia proceeding to the second round of the T20 WC. He will be expected to continue his good form if Namibia are to perform well in the Super 12s.

8) Curtis Campher

Curtis Campher
Curtis Campher. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)

South Africa are famous for producing space-bowling all-rounders. Curtis Campher is one of those all-rounders who was from SA but never played for them. He was born in Johannesburg.

The all-rounder even played in SA during his U-15s and U-17s. As he qualified to play for Ireland through his grandmother, he decided to shift his base to Ireland. Niall O’Brien once said that he held an Irish passport and was fast-tracked.

He has now become an integral part of the Irish team despite making his debut just a few months ago. He was impressive in the first round of this T20 WC as well. The talented all-rounder even picked a hat-trick against Netherlands.

9) Tom Curran

Tom Curran
Tom Curran. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Tom Curran is the son of the former Zimbabwean cricketer Kevin Curran. Born in South Africa, he played his junior cricket for KwaZulu-Natal Inland. It was only later on when he managed to impress the Surrey management.

Thus, he was nurtured by them. The bowling all-rounder then made his international debut for England in 2017. Despite having a topsy-turvy career so far, he has shown glimpses of his potential.

He wasn’t in the T20 WC squad initially but an injury to his younger brother Sam Curran meant that he ended up replacing his brother in the squad. He didn’t get a chance to feature in the game against West Indies that England comfortably won. However, it won’t be surprising if he does end up getting a game in this tournament later on.

10) Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan
Chris Jordan. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

Chris Jordan is currently one of the best T20 bowlers going around. England are blessed to have a world class death bowler like him. However, he isn’t an Englishman by birth.

The pacer was born in Barbados and his roots are over there. He moved to England on the back of a sporting scholarship when he was a teenager. He has never looked back since then and is now an integral part of the English set-up.

Poetically, it was he who influenced Jofra Archer to do the same. Archer moved to England on Jordan’s recommendation. Thus, Jordan has done a lot for England on as well as off the field.

11) Fayyaz Butt

Fayyaz Butt
Fayyaz Butt. (Photo by Francois Nel-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Fayyaz Butt is an Omani cricketer who played for them in this T20 WC. He looked impressive too. However, he is originally from Pakistan. Butt was born in Sialkot, Pakistan.

The pacer was named in Pakistan’s U-19 squad back in 2010 as well. His 4/27 had even knocked India out of the 2020 U-19 WC. Some of his wickets included the likes of KL Rahul.

However, he went on to make his debut for Oman in 2019. He grabbed headlines when he took a stunning catch of his own bowling in this edition of the T20 WC itself. His idols are Imran Khan and Brett Lee.

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