40 players of Indian origin will participate in the T20 World Cup CHENNAI: They grew up with the dream of representing India. But in a cricketing powerhouse bursting at the seams, it can sometimes feel like threading the eye of a needle.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Still, that hasn’t stopped the likes of Monak Patel, Saurabh Netravalkar, Jaspreet Singh and others from being a part of the T20 World Cup. In 20 teams, 40 players with Indian roots will take the field in different colors, except the Indian “blue”. Canada tops the list with 11 players from the Indian diaspora, followed by the US with nine. Oman and the United Arab Emirates have seven each.
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USA is led by 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Monank, who once played age-group cricket for Gujarat U-19s. Monank, who followed his family to the US after not getting an opportunity in India, said he was grateful for a second chance in international cricket.“It’s a dream come true for many players in our team. Most of them started their careers in India, so it’s very special. It’s a different feeling playing in India for the USA, but we’ve been representing them for a long time. The decision to play for the USA was actually a ‘pretended’ situation for me,” said Monank, who has been a vital TO1 teammate since his TO1 debut.
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As Italy enters the World Cup stage for the first time, fast bowler Jaspreet will try to forge his own path. Born in Phagwara, he once dreamed of playing on these very international grounds.“I came to Italy when I was very young and today I really feel that it is my home. Every cricketer grows up dreaming of playing in the World Cup and being here now is hard to put into words. It is special to be playing in India, where it all started for me. As a child I dreamed of playing on the same international pitch where great players compete. After so much sacrifice and so much hard work, I want to enjoy every single moment and so much hard work,” he said. Jaspreet who once even drove Uber in the UK for a living.Many of them are amateur cricketers. Take the case of Netravalkar, who was quite impressive for the USA in the last T20 World Cup. The left-arm pacer is a software professional who has often taken time off to pursue his cricketing dreams. In the last World Cup, he recalled two of his heroes, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. During an interaction in New York after the match, he said, “I’m happy to be able to pursue both of my passions. The support I get from my employers helps me.”Off-spinner Aryan Dutt’s parents moved from India to the Netherlands before he was born. “I didn’t get the chance to come back here after the 2023 World Cup. My family will be watching the game and if time permits I hope to go and watch them too,” he said.Former Mumbai cricketer Sulakshan Kulkarni is currently the assistant coach of Oman. After extensive coaching on the domestic circuit in India, he decided to move to Oman. “This has been going on for years,” he says.“When players realize how difficult it is to break through in India, they start looking for opportunities elsewhere. They’re coming to that much earlier these days.”
