Indian-born players battle Team India in the Cricket World Cup

RACHIN RAVINDRA: Born to Indian parents, Rachin Ravindra plays for New Zealand. The all-rounder scored a half-century to give early impetus to New Zealand. Rachin, whose name is a mix (portmanteau) of two Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, is one of several players of Indian extract playing at the World Cup. Gulf News takes a look at some of them.

Ish Sodhi: The New Zealand leg-spinner has been waiting to get his chance in this World Cup. The spinner must be the trumpcard the New Zealanders must be using during the later stages of the tournament, when the wickets will assist the spinners. The Ludhiana-born spinner, whose grandparents moved to Punjab in India from Lahore, moved to Auckland when he was four. The 31-year-old spinner comes into the World Cup with his career-best six-wicket haul against Bangladesh in September.

Rachin Ravindra: The 23-year-old opener has been in impressive form scoring a century and two half-centuries in the five matches he played in his maiden World Cup. Ravindra, whose father moved to New Zealand from Bangalore in 1997, stood firm when the Black Caps were in a spot of bother against India in the battle between the two undefeated teams. The opener stitched together 1 159-run partnership with Darryl Mitchell to give the 2019 finalists a total to defend.

Aryan Dutt: The 20-year-old off-spinner’s father moved to Amsterdam after migrating from Punjab in the 1980s, When the Men in Blue lifted their second World Cup trophy, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the performance increased the popularity of the sport in India, but the aftershock was felt in the Netherlands when Dutt took up the sport only to represent Netherlands in the World Cup after coming up the ranks through the junior events.

Anil Teja Nidamanuru: The 24-year-old Vijayawada-born Nidamanuru moved to the Netherlands in 2019 to work as a Business Development Manager from Auckland. The right-handed batter scored a whirlwind century in the domestic game earned him the place in the Dutch ODI squad against the West Indies in 2022. He started the year on a positive note, scoring a century against Zimbabwe in the first ODI, a knock that helped him seal his World Cup spot.

Vikramjit Singh: The Dutch opener plays the ODIs like a Twenty20 game. The hard-hitting Vikramjit Singh’s family settled down in Amstelveen when he was seven, moving from Punjab. The left-hander first found his spot in the Netherlands team in 2019-20 in the Twenty20 International after impressing with the bat during the 2019 World Cup Europe Qualifier. He is also instrumental in the Netherlands booking a place in the World Cup with an impressive show in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

Keshav Maharaj: The South African left-arm spinner’s forefathers relocated to Durban from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The 33-year-old Maharaj has made a phenomenal rise to the top after making his One-Day International debut in 2017. The spinner, who began his career as a fast bowler, had a life turning experience after becoming a spinner. Maharaj led the country for the first time in 2021, in the second ODI against Sri Lanka and then made his Twenty20 international debut against Sri Lanka as a captain.

Glenn Maxwell: The Australian all-rounder has not had any links with India until he played in the Indian Premier League. But now Maxwell has more connection to the Indian sub-continent. He is a half Indian, the better half. His wife Vini Raman is of South Indian origin and they both got married in a traditional Indian wedding in September 2023. Now a good performance against India will give him the bragging rights during the family dinner.