The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will commence on June 2, 2024. Co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies, the tournament will see the participation of 20 teams as cricket tries to get global.
Teams like Canada, Uganda and the United States are padding up to take part in the coveted competition alongside the conventional powerhouses of the game. An interesting aspect of the squads of these teams is the presence of players hailing from Indian lineage.
While many players of Indian ancestry have played for other nations in the past, like Nasser Hussain, Stuart Clark and Hashim Amla, this World Cup season is about to witness several younger talents of Indian-origin flexing their muscles for nations they grew up at. Here are five proficient cricketers of Indian lineage to look out for as the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 gets going.
1. Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) | 24 years
Born in Wellington to Indian parents who hail from Bengaluru, this left-handed all-rounder has made it into the Kiwi squad. Ravindra’s performance in the 2023 World Cup, in which he gathered 578 from 9 innings with 3 centuries and 2 fifties, has paved the way for his international recognition. His big-hitting ability in the T20 format was put on display as he opened for Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 season. With a total of 1553 runs and 39 wickets to his name at thenternational level, this young talent is one to look out for.
2. Ish Sodhi (New Zealand) | 31 years
Hailing from a Sikh family in Punjab's Ludhiana, he was born in India but brought up in New Zealand's Papatoetoe where his family migrated to when he was four.
Sodhi's career would have had a swifter take-off if he had been part of the cricket system somewhere outside Papatoetoe. Although known for its cricket craze, Papatoetoe's pitches were not spin-friendly and the captains in the youth system were not taught to use spinners wisely. Fortunately, Sodhi didn't give up and eventually reached the top level.
Sodhi’s leg-break bowling is surely a threat to India's title hopes. In his 9-year career, this right-hand-batter has appeared in a total of 187 matches. Having taken 256 wickets and 924 runs, this brilliant bowler is a great loss to Indian cricket. In T20Is alone, he has 136 wickets to his credit from 111 innings.
3. Keshav Maharaj (South Africa) | 34 years
His international debut came in 2016 and the South African left-arm orthodox spin bowler is the world's top-ranked ODI bowler. According to reports, the bowling all-rounder's great-grandfather migrated to Durban in 1874 from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Keshav too, was born and raised in Durban.
Keshav Maharaj, part of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, had a major role to play in taking South Africa to the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup. With an impressive tally of 237 wickets and 1,452 runs across international formats, Maharaj is among the players to watch out for in the tournament.
4. Monank Patel (USA) | 31 years
USA's wicketkeeper-batter, Monank Patel will have the additional responsibility of leading the home team at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Having managed a total of 1833 runs in his career, Patel was born in Gujarat and even played in the under-16 and under-18 formats for the Gujarat state team before migrating to the USA.
It was in 2016, that he shifted to New Jersey permanently -- six years after having received his green card.
It was in 2021 that the USA asked Monank to lead the team. Patel split his captaincy role with vice-captain Aaron Jones as USA began the T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Antigua, held from November 7-14.
5. Alpesh Ramjani (Uganda) | 29 years
Hailing from Mumbai Alpesh Ramjani is an all-rounder who has been included in the Uganda squad for the T20 World Cup. Being a left-arm spin bowler, he holds the record for most wickets in a calendar year in T20 internationals -- 55 wickets from 30 matches. Alpesh is in such fine touch that he was named in the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year for 2023. He spent two seasons as a member of the Ranji Trophy camp and played for the Mumbai team at the U-16 and U-19 levels before moving to Uganda.