Domestic cricket helps a nation improve its performance at the global stage. Over the years, domestic tournaments have helped India find new talents and turn them into international stars. Nowadays, IPL receives the preference in the Indian cricket arena.
Before the IPL began, domestic cricket tournaments like Duleep Trophy, Ranji Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Irani Cup, Challenger Trophy and others helped the selectors pick new players. It is regular to see overseas players playing in the Indian Premier League. However, not many fans would know that seven overseas cricketers have come to India to play in other domestic tournaments.
1. Kabir Ali played domestic cricket for Rajasthan
Kabir Ali is a former Pakistan descent English fast bowler. Back in the year 2006-07, Kabir came to India to play domestic cricket for the Rajasthan team.
The English pace bowler played two matches for Rajasthan in the 2006/07 Ranji Trophy. He picked up four wickets with the ball and scored 72 runs with the bat.
2. Vikram Solanki also played domestic cricket for Rajasthan
Another English player who played domestic cricket for Rajasthan in 2006/07 was Vikram Solanki. The top-order batsman represented England in ICC T20 World Cup 2007.
Solanki played five matches for Rajasthan in Ranji Trophy that season. He amassed 259 runs for the state, with his highest score being 77.
3. Nayan Doshi
Nayan Doshi is the son of former Indian cricketer Dilip Doshi. He has been a part of the Indian Premier League, where he played for Rajasthan Royals.
Not many fans would know that Doshi is a British player. But from 2001 to 2005, he came to India to play for Saurashtra in domestic arena. Recently, Nayan Doshi had grabbed the headlines after he became the oldest player to make it to the IPL Auction 2021.
4. Enamul Haque Jr played domestic cricket for Maharashtra
BCCI allowed state teams to sign one overseas player in 2008. The criteria was that the player should have played at least 10 Tests or 20 white-ball matches for his country.
Only Maharashtra fielded one overseas player among all teams. He was the left-arm spin bowler from Bangladesh named Enamul Haque Jr.
5. Maurice Robinson
Maurice Robinson was born on July 16, 1921 in Ireland. He was a pace-bowling all-rounder, who played 83 first-class matches in his career.
Robinson played for five teams in his career. The teams were Europeans XI, Glamorgan, Yorkshire, Hyderabad (India) and Madras.
6. Chester Watson
Former West Indies fast bowler Chester Watson once came to India to play domestic cricket for Delhi. He represented three teams in his career.
They were the West Indies team, Delhi and Jamaica. Watson played seven Test matches in his career, picking up 19 wickets for the Caribbean side.
7. Denis Compton
Denis Compton represented the England cricket team in 78 Test matches. He was a right-handed batsman and a left-arm wrist-spin bowler. Compton scored over 5,000 runs in his Test career.
He also played 515 first-class matches in his career, amassing 38,942 runs for various teams. One of the teams that Compton played domestic cricket was for Holkar. Apart from that, he also played for the Europeans XI and Middlesex.
