The pitch is ready for the T20 World Cup series this year with players joining in from across the borders. The host country of this year’s series is the USA. With the participation of 20 teams from around the world, it is one of the most anticipated games of the year. The battle of the teams on the cricket pitch will culminate in the ultimate finale on June 29, 2024, in Barbados. Among various storylines emerging from this series, one of the most interesting is that of Indian-origin cricketers playing against India. Earlier, this arc has opened debates about patriotism and betrayal time and again during international matches.
Among 20 participating countries in the T20 World Cup, India was placed in Group A with other teams such as Ireland, Canada, arch-rival Pakistan and the host country. In the given composition of teams, while there are no Indian-origin players from Pakistan and Ireland, Team Canada and Team USA are composed of several players of Indian origin.
According to One Cricket here is a look at the top 5 Indian-origin players who can challenge Team India in the forthcoming edition.
In 2010, Saurabh was part of India U-19 and played alongside Indian players K L Rahul and Jaydev Unadkat. After failed attempts to earn a spot in the national team, Saurabh shifted his focus to play for Team USA in 2018. He is a key player of Team USA and Team India should look out for the player in upcoming matches.
The captain of Team USA, Monank Patel, hails from Gujrat, India and has represented his hometown in U-16 and U-18 levels. In 2016, Patel shifted his focus to play for the USA and settled in New Jersey. He has emerged as a crucial player in games.
Before relocating to Seattle in 2021 for USA’s Minor League matches, Singh was part of the Indian World Cup squad and represented Mumbai and Tripura in domestic cricket. He emerged as a key player for the USA in recent matches with Bangladesh and Canada. He is particularly an advantage in middle overs with his left-arm spinners.
After facing rejection to earn a state team seat, Bajwa and his family moved to Canada in 2020. Two years later, in 2023, he represented Montreal Tigers at Global T20 Canada which paved the way for his international debut against Bermuda. During four matches of the T20I, Bajwa accumulated a score of 52 with 92 runs and a batting average of 30.66. Thus, he poses a challenge for Team India in upcoming matches.
After relocating to Canada, Singh made his T20I debut 2019 against the Cayman Islands. The right-handed batter emerged as a crucial player with the highest score of 101, a batting average of 28.04 and a strike rate of 147.25.
