5 popular players who moved to lesser-established cricketing nations

In the current era, there is a lot of movement of players between nations. With the T20 World Cup taking a lot of prominence and with players from associate nations doing well, there are opportunities available in big teams. There is also the inverse case that also happens. In this article, we take a look at five popular players who moved to lesser-established cricketing nations.

When players do not get too many chances because of the existing competition, they tend to look for opportunities elsewhere. Yes, they may not compete at the highest level but they get the chance to be a part of international cricket on a consistent basis. This is a priority for a few cricketers and hence, they make the move. We look at five players who have done that in recent years. Please note that we have considered players who have represented two nations. For instance, Corey Anderson is also a potential name on the list but the former Kiwi is yet to make his debut for the United States of America cricket team.

1) David Wiese - South Africa to Namibia

David Wiese is one of the players who moved to lesser-established cricketing nations. A brilliant all-rounder, Wiese found it hard to get chances in his native nation, South Africa. A few years ago, he moved to another African nation - Namibia. He has become an important part of the setup and helped the nation do well in two T20 World Cups. His experience is something that has been very useful for the setup.

2) Jade Derbach - England to Italy

Not many know that the former English pacer now plays for Italy. Jade Dernbach was once a consistent part of the England Team. However, after losing form, he had to reconsider his England career. He fulfilled the criteria to represent Italy and hence, he has been serving the European Team. 

3) Rusty Theron - South Africa to the USA

Rusty Theron is also one of the players who moved to lesser-established cricketing nations. Theron is one of the first players to start the trend to make a move to the USA. Theron is now a crucial part of the squad and will play in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

4) Roelof van der Merwe - South Africa to the Netherlands

The spin-bowling all-rounder played a few games for South Africa at the start of his career. He then shifted his loyalty to the Netherlands. For the Dutch squad, van der Merwe has been a veteran and recently also played in the 2022 T20 World Cup.

5) Xavier Marshall - West Indies to the USA

Xavier Marshall is also a part of this list of players who moved to lesser-established cricketing nations. The cricketer played at the U19 level and at the senior level for West Indies. He once scored 157 runs in an ODI and that had broken a few records. However, the player then moved to the USA. He has got quite a few chances since then.