Published - Jun 2, 2019 10:45 am | Updated - Jun 12, 2019 7:00 pm
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The 12th edition of World Cup is up and running and 150 players will take the centre-stage for about a month and a half. Interestingly, not all the players are born in the same country for which they are taking part in the World Cup. The hosts England have only ten players born in England, rest have origin from different parts of the world. A total of 17 players born in South Africa are playing for diverse nations. Cricketers from a group of islands form the West Indies.
Plenty of cricketers have played for another country than the one they were actually born in; some have played for two countries as well! There are different reasons for the cricketers to not play for their own country. Maybe they had to move their base due to the lack of opportunities or they had to leave the country very early in their life with their family.
Having said that, one has to laud these players as they have defied the odds and still managed to make it to the team of the country which they don’t originally belong to.
Here we take a look at 10 such players who were born in other country but are playing for the different nation in the World Cup 2019:
1. Jason Roy – South Africa
A career average of 40 and the strike-rate of over 100 makes Jason Roy a complete entertainer. Born in Durban, South Africa, Roy moved to England as a 10-year-old and by the age of 17, he made his debut for Surrey in the T20 format. He has enjoyed England’s aggressive approach which largely suits his style of play.
Roy has an elegant and graceful batting stance which combined with his 6 feet height ensues for the carnage he creates. The opener has shown excellent form leading to the World Cup. He started 2018 with a bang in Melbourne with an innings of 180, which is the highest ODI score by a player donning the English jersey. This year Roy has already smashed two tons and two half-centuries in 6 innings before the commencement of the World Cup.
He has also begun the tournament on a high with a half-century against South Africa and will be keen to continue the good run. His Surrey mate Kevin Pietersen is a huge fan of Jason Roy, although it might have something to do that Kevin also hails from South Africa.
