3 Indian domestic cricket stars who have now switched to the United States

Having started in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has gone on to become one of the most valuable sports tournaments on the planet.

The Indian cricket team has got many talents from the IPL. Since the youngsters learn to handle pressure situations during the league, they do not struggle much at the international level.

Earlier, the top performers in the domestic circuit were considered for international cricket. But it seems like the preference has gradually shifted to the IPL, thanks to the high level of skills required to succeed in the competition. Now, uncapped players who perform consistently in the IPL, can also break into the Indian cricket team.

Although the number of tournaments for the players to gain the selectors' attention has increased, only 11 can play for India in one match at the end of the day.

Of late, USA Cricket has secured the services of underused players from other nations. The likes of Corey Anderson and Sami Aslam have joined the USA. A few domestic cricket stars from India have also decided to move to the United States and start a new cricketing journey.

Here are three such Indian players:

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#1 Sunny Sohal

A scorching 22-ball fifty for the USA's Sunny Sohal.And a 31-ball 50 for @lynny50 @WinnipegGT20 reach 150 in the 13th over. Cruising now@TorontoNational #GT2019#TNvsWH pic.twitter.com/YGWMNC0756

— GT20 Canada (@GT20Canada) July 29, 2019

Sunny Sohal is a 33-year-old top-order batsman who has played three T20 internationals for the United States. The right-handed batsman was born in Mohali, Punjab.

He made his first-class debut for Punjab on December 9, 2005, against Hyderabad. Sohal represented Punjab in all three formats and soon went on to bag an IPL contract from the Punjab Kings. Later in his career, Sohal joined the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Although he scored an IPL fifty against the Chennai Super Kings and aggregated over 1,200 runs in the first-class arena, Sunny Sohal could not make it big in Indian cricket. He played for the India U-19s, but never got a place in the senior squad. It made him seek greener pastures and he ultimately moved to the USA.

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#2 Smit Patel

Former Under-19 World Cup winner Smit Patel is all set to pursue his American dream, and will feature in this year's CPL for the Barbados Tridents

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 31, 2021

Wicket-keeper batsman Smit Patel is another former India U-19 player who has now moved to the United States. He had scored the winning runs for India in the 2012 U-19 World Cup final.

It seemed like India had got one more wicket-keeper batsman who could finish off the innings. However, Smit Patel's career never got the push it needed and he never managed an IPL contract.

The Ahmedabad-born player represented Gujarat, Baroda, Goa, and Tripura in the domestic circuit, scoring over 5,000 runs across three formats. Smit got a place in India U-23s, India Blue, and Indian Board President's XI, but he never got a national call-up to the senior team.

The 28-year-old thus decided to move to the United States. Patel will be in action in the upcoming CPL season, where he will don the Barbados Tridents' jersey.

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#3 Siddharth Trivedi

#Sports | His #Indian dream might not have ended the way he would have liked, but #cricketer #SiddharthTrivedi has found a new vigour in the land of opportunities to fulfil his ‘#American #Dream’.Read More at : https://t.co/dj6FV41Wm8 pic.twitter.com/lmoTc2xKPG

— Ahmedabad Mirror (@ahmedabadmirror) June 15, 2021

Another Ahmedabad-born player who decided to switch to the United States in 2021 is Siddharth Trivedi. The 38-year-old medium pacer played domestic cricket for Gujarat and Saurashtra and was also a part of 76 IPL matches for the Rajasthan Royals.

The right-arm pacer picked up more than 250 wickets in first-class cricket and 65 in the IPL. Unfortunately, Siddharth's IPL career was derailed in 2013 when the BCCI banned him for one year for not reporting a corrupt approach. He hasn't played in the league since.

In a recent interview with Ahmedabad Mirror, Siddharth Trivedi has revealed that he is currently in the USA and will soon start playing for St. Louis Americans in the Minor League.