ICC Men’s T20 World Cup: THESE cricketers have played T20I for two different countries

While playing for one’s country in itself is a very precious moment in the cricketer’s life, however, there are some players who have gone on to play for two different countries.

With cricket being developed in countries like Ireland, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Scotland, and Afghanistan, it has opened up the space for cricketers to venture into different lands to up their chances of playing at the highest level.

In total, there have been 27 players so far who played for two different countries. While in Test cricket, there have been players like Kepler Wessels, Boyd Rankin, John Traicos, Sammy Guillen, Amir Elahi, Abdul Hafeez Kardar, and many more have played for two different countries.

In One Day Internationals, players like Eoin Morgan, Geraint Jones, Dougie Brown, Anderson Cummins, Clayton Lambert, Kepler Wessels, are notable examples.

So now when it comes to Twenty20 internationals, these are the cricketers who played T20I for two different countries. 

Mark Chapman

Played for: Hong Kong & New Zealand

The young cricketer had played some phenomenal cricket in New Zealand’s T20 Super Smash, but being born in Hong Kong to a New Zealand father, Chapman got the best in both worlds.

He was eligible to play for both Hong Kong and New Zealand and the young gun played two One-day Internationals and 19 T20s for Hong Kong, before moving to New Zealand. He has played three ODIs and four T20s for the Kiwis so far.

Ed Joyce

Played for: England & Ireland

Born in Dublin, the cricketer played in Ireland, before qualifying to play for England on residency grounds. He had made his ODI debut for England in June 2006 and later made his T20 debut for England.

After playing two T20s and 17 ODIs for England, he returned to play for Ireland in 2010 and was selected in the country’s 2011 World Cup squad. He had made his Ireland ODI debut in 2011.

Luke Ronchi

Played for: Australia, and New Zealand

Born in Dannevirke, New Zealand, Luke Ronchi had moved to Australia when he was young and played only four ODIs and three T20Is for the Aussies since his debut in 2008. 

However, he moved back to his birth country in 2012 to increase his chances of playing international cricket and played his first game in 2013 and then went on to play a massive role for Kiwis in the 2015 World Cup. 

Dirk Nannes:

Played for: Netherlands and Australia

Born to Dutch parents, Dirk Nannes had made his international debut for the Netherlands in 2009 and even played in the ICC World Cup qualifiers. 

However, just months after his debut, he was called up to Australia’s T20 side. Nannes then went on to represent Australia in the 2010 World T20 tournament. 

Boyd Rankin

Played for: Ireland and England

Currently an Irish cricketer, Rankin had started his international career as an Ireland player and made his debut in ODI in 2007 and played for Ireland in the 2007 World Cup. He went on to make his T20I debut in 2009 and played for Ireland until 2012. However, Rankin decided to quit playing cricket for Ireland in 2012 and decided to play for England. 

For the English side, he made his T20 debut in 2013 but the opportunities proved very limited, and so he returned back to Ireland in 2016. 

Roelof van der Merwe

Played for: South Africa and the Netherlands

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Roelof van der Merwe played T20I for the Proteas in 2009. He has played 13 T20 games for South Africa and also made some useful contributions with the bat. However, he struggled to become a regular member of the squad and so he moved to the Netherlands. 

With the new country, he made his debut in 2015 and went on to play 12 T20 games and scored 117 runs and picked up 17 wickets. 

Xavier Marshall

Played for: West Indies and the United States of America

West Indian player Xavier Marshall was touted as an incredible talent both in the batting department as well as in the field. However, once being named West Indies Youth Cricketer of the Year, Marshall was reported several times for bad behaviour. 

Due to this, and his inconsistent performances in the field, he was eventually ousted from the national team. He later moved to the United States of America and now plays for that country.

Izatullah Dawlatzai

Played for: Afghanistan and Germany

Izatullah Dawlatzai, who had picked up the second-highest wickets in the U19 World Cup Qualifiers in 2009 had made his debut in 2010 (as a teenager).

Dawlatzai even played a pivotal part in Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup qualification, however, family issues and his long-distance relationship with his fiance led him to move to Germany. He then went on to become an active member of the German national team.

Hayden Walsh

Played for: USA and West Indies

After putting an incredible performance for the title winners Barbados Tridents’ in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2019, Hayden was called up for the West Indies national team.

However, born in the United States to Antiguan parents, Walsh had a dual passport and was eligible to play for both nations. He went on to make his debut for the US team in 2018 and later, the right arm off-spinner made his T20 debut against Afghanistan in 2019.