Many players in modern international cricket do not represent their home country and instead choose to play for another country for a variety of reasons. Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Imran Tahir, Grant Elliot, and Eoin Morgan are just a few of the well-known instances.
In India, the battle for national team selection is extremely fierce, and as a result, some of the best performers on the home circuit are sometimes overlooked. As a result, a small number of players travel to other nations in order to compete at the top level. However, players born in other nations have been unable to represent India.
However, there are a few players from the twentieth century who were born outside of India, as well as nations that were once part of India.
Ashok Gandotra – Brazil
Ashok Gandotra was born in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in November 1948. At the age of 17, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi at the start of 1966. During the 1969/70 home season, Ashok made his India debut, appearing in two Tests – one against New Zealand and the other against Australia. Ashok Gandotra is the only guy born in Brazil to play Test cricket, according to statistics. From Delhi, Ashok joined the Bengal squad, but he was unable to deliver.
Salim Durani – Afghanistan
In December 1934, Salim Durani was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. At Brabourne Stadium, the left-hander made his Test debut against Australia at the start of 1960. He appeared in 29 Test matches for India, scoring 1202 runs with the assistance of eight 50+ scores, including a century. Salim Durani’s professional career began with Saurashtra in the 1953/54 season, and he transferred to Gujarat the following season. Durani played for Gujarat for two seasons before joining Rajasthan. Until the end of his professional career in 1976/77, he was a member of the Rajasthan squad for 22 domestic seasons. In his 170-match FC career, Durani scored 8545 runs and took 484 wickets. Durani’s final Test, against England, was also held at the same location in 1973.
Robin Singh – Trinidad and Tobago
Robin Singh has the most international caps of any Indian cricketer born outside the country. The all-rounder played in 136 One-Day Internationals (ODIs), but his first Test in 1999 was also his last. In the 1998 Harare Test, which India lost by 61 runs, he played against Zimbabwe. He scored 27 runs in two innings and bowled 10 overs without getting a wicket throughout the game. Robin Singh was born in the Trinidad & Tobago city of Princes Town. Before going to India, he made his professional debut for his local side. In the 1985/86 season, he played in the Ranji Trophy for the first time, representing Tamil Nadu. In 1989, he made his international debut for India in an ODI against the West Indies. Robin Singh scored 2336 runs in 136 One-Day Internationals, including 109 half-centuries. He also took 69 wickets in ODIs, the highest of which was 5/22.
Khokhan Sen – Bangladesh
Khokhan Sen, who was born on May 31, 1926, was the first Indian wicketkeeper to become a regular member of the team. Probir Kumar Sen is his given name. Sen’s pedigree is demonstrated by the fact that he played 14 Tests after India had only six glovemen in its first 12 games. During his 15-year first-class career, he scored 2580 runs at an average of 23.24 with three hundreds. As a wicketkeeper, Probir was responsible for 108 dismissals in 70 FC games, with 97 catches and 35 stumpings.
There have been unverified allegations that Pankaj Roy was born in Dhaka, which is nowadays a part of Bangladesh. Popular cricket databases, on the other hand, claim that he was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata).
Lall Singh – Malaysia
Lall Singh is the first player from an associate country to represent India in Test cricket. He is also the only Asian Test player to be born in a country that does not play Test cricket. In December 1909, Lall Singh was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Lall is the only Malaysian player to have played in a Test match. He took part in India’s first test match against England at Lords. That was his only appearance in a Test Match. In what turned out to be his only Test debut, he scored 15 and 29 runs respectively. In his first-class career, he played in a total of 32 matches.
