5 Indian origin players who have captained other countries
These players did well exceptionally well for their respective countries.
In a cricket crazy nation like India having a population of around 1.37 billion, it is very difficult to enter into the national side. Hence, many highly talented players have to look for options in other countries to play the sport at the highest level. India historically has produced world-class cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and many more.
Over the years, a number of players from Indian origin have gone on to play for other countries like England, South Africa, West Indies etc. In fact, some of them have led the other countries and tasted a considerable amount of success while some of them were not as successful as captains.
The likes of Gurinder Sandhu (Australia), Ish Sodhi (New Zealand), and Monty Panesar (England) have already made their names in the international circuit as players while there have been other players of Indian origin who have become successful leaders playing for countries other than India.
Here’s a list of 5 Indian origin cricketers who captained other countries:
1. Nasser Hussain (England)
The Chennai born cricketer had a decent International career as a batsman playing for England. Nasser Hussain fought very hard to establish his career in the English cricket team but made good use of the opportunity that came towards him. He started his career way back in 1989 when he made his limited-overs debut against Pakistan.
He is one of the most successful captains for England leading the team in 45 Tests and 56 ODIs. The team won 17 Tests and 28 ODI’s when Hussain was at the helm. As a batsman, he has scored 5764 runs in Tests and 2332 runs in One Day Internationals for England. He will always be remembered for being the architect behind getting the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar stumped down the leg side of the bowling of Ashley Giles in a Test match at Ahmedabad in 2001.
2. Hashim Amla (South Africa)
Currently, he is one of the mainstays of the South African batting line-up. Hashim Amla hails from a conservative Muslim family that has its roots in Gujarat. He has been one of the most prolific run-scorers for his team and has performed exceptionally well across all the formats.
Amla made his Test debut way back in 2004 against India. The wristy batsman has also led South Africa in Tests and ODIs before. In 14 Tests playing under him, the team has won 4 matches. He also captained the team in 9 One Day Internationals and 2 T20 Internationals too.
In Test matches, he has amassed 9282 runs with an average of around 47 and in ODIs, he has 7910 runs to his name with an average close to 50 and will be looking to add to the tally in the upcoming World Cup.
3. Ashish Bagai (Canada)
The Delhi born Canadian International moved to Canada at the age of 11. Ashish Bagai is a right-handed batsman who is a specialist wicket-keeper. He played for Canada in 62 ODIs and 9 T20Is, averaging close to 38 and 40 in both the formats respectively.
Ashish has captained Canada over a period of six years between 2007 and 2013. He has skippered the national team in 27 ODIs and 4 T20Is. While he achieved success in 8 matches in the 50-over format as the leader, Canada could only win a solitary T20I under him.
After leading Canada in an unsuccessful campaign in the World T20 Qualifier in 2014 where Canada finished 12th out of the 16 teams in the tournament, he finally decided to call it quits from the game.
4. Rohan Kanhai (Windies)
Rohan Kanhai is definitely one of the best cricketers of Indian origin to have represented another country. The right-handed batsman from Guyana was a true genius as he had an illustrious career with more than 6000 runs in 79 Test matches which is a very decent performance in that era. He made his Test debut way back in 1957.
The charismatic batsman also captained the Windies team in 13 Test matches from 1972/73 – 1973/74. He had a mixed success rate with 3 wins and as many losses being the skipper. He proudly holds the record for being the” First ODI skipper” for the West Indies.
Such was the impact of the man in India that Sunil Gavaskar named his son “Rohan” after Kanhai. He was inducted in the ICC Hall Of Fame in 2013.
5. Shivnarine Chanderpaul (Windies)
Not many of us realize that Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been in the international cricket circuit since 1994. The Guyana born batsman with Indian roots has a unique batting stance. The southpaw is one of the Caribbean’s most talented, yet unsung heroes.
He holds a unique record of being only the second player other than Sachin Tendulkar to have an international career spanning for more than two decades at the highest level. His son Tagenarine Chanderpaul is a first-class cricketer who plays for Guyana.
He has played 164 Test Matches for West Indies scoring 11,867 runs at an impressive average of 51.37. While in 268 ODIs he has smashed 8,778 runs with a very good average of 41.60. As a captain, he led his national side in 16 ODIs and 14 Test matches. However, only 2 ODI wins and a solitary Test win depicts that he did not enjoy his captaincy stint. He was a much better player than a captain.
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