Being a cricket-dominant nation, it is common to witness cricketers born in India playing for other countries. At the moment, the likes of Hashim Amla and Gurinder Sandhu are some of the popular examples. However, there have also been instances wherein a player born outside India has played for the country. In this article, we take a look at the list of five popular cricketers who were born overseas but played for India at the international level.
It is surprising that a player who was not born in India has donned the blue jersey. However, talent has no boundaries, especially if the player has climbed the conventional steps of doing well in the Ranji competitions before falling in the eye of the selectors. We take a look at five such players in the below headings.
1) Robin Singh – Trinidad and Tobago
Robin Singh is a popular cricketer on this list. In fact, he made his professional debut even before moving to India. For the country, he was one of the best medium-pace bowling all-rounders in the late nineties. Although he was a regular feature in the ODI format, Robin did not have a successful Test career. The player is currently a highly rated coach with multiple successful stints across various levels.
2) Salim Durani – Afghanistan
Salim Durani is one of the popular cricketers who were born overseas but played for India. Salim was born in Kabul. Hence, even before Afghanistan made their official debut in Tests, a player born in the land had already played Test cricket, albeit for Team India. Salim actually had a pretty decent career for India. He played in 29 matches and did well both with the bat and the ball. Later, he also became the manager of Team India. However, this was for a very short stint.
3) Khokhan Sen – Bangladesh
Khokhan Sen was born in Bangladesh, although at that time, the region came under East Pakistan. He is one of the first wicket-keepers for Team India who had a consistent run. However, after a few games, even Sen lost his form. Eventually, he was dropped by the management. Nevertheless, he continued to have a decent run in the domestic circuit.
4) Lall Singh – Malaysia
Lall Singh is one of the cricketers who were born overseas but played for India. The cricketer’s birth-place is Malaysia. He happens to be the only Test cricketer who was born in Malaysia to date. Lall Singh also is one of the rare cricketers born in a non-Test playing nation who eventually played Test cricket. Singh was part of India’s inaugural Test match against England. However, this also happened to be his last appearance at the highest level.
5) Gulabrai Ramchand – Pakistan
Gulabrai Ramchand is an important player in Indian Cricket history. Born in Karachi, the all-rounder played 33 Tests for India. He also captained the country in a series against Australia. India got its first win against Australia under Gulabrai’s captaincy. He also played for Bombay and Rajasthan in domestic cricket. As per Wikipedia, he is one of the first players to have endorsed a commercial brand.