5 Indian-origin cricketers who captained foreign teams

The game of cricket may have originated in England, but we Indians are currently performing spectacularly well in all the formats and are at the peak of our play. India has known to have produced some of the greatest cricketers to have played the game. Some players like MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, and Kapil Dev were born leaders who led the team to tremendous success over the years.

However, the sport has also witnessed instances when Indian-origin cricketers have gone on to captain other nations they are based in for a considerable period of time.

There have also been many players of Indian origin who have showcased their talent while representing other nations. Players like Monty Panesar (England), Ish Sodhi (New Zealand), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) and Gurinder Sandhu (Australia) have already made their name in the international cricket while there have been other players who have gone onto becoming captains.

There have been Indian-origin players who have gone to foreign shores and captained successfully there too. Here is the list of 5 such Indian-origin cricketers who have led other nations in international matches.

#1 Hashim Amla (South Africa)

Hashim Amla

One of the leading openers of the South African cricket team, Hashim Amla hails from a Gujarat-based family. He is one of the finest South African batsmen ever, Hashim Amla has been on a run-making spree ever since he started to represent the country at the international level.

Amla has led the Proteas in 14 Tests, losing four and winning the same number of matches. He has also led the team in nine ODIs and two T20Is. Hashim Amla is one of the modern greats of the game and is continuing to show his importance for the national team.

He is the first South African of Indian descent to represent South Africa in international cricket.

#2 Nasser Hussain (England)

Nasser Hussain

Nasser Hussain is one of the most famous Indian-origin cricketers who made a name playing for another country. He is one of the most successful captains of the English cricket team. Hussain was born in Chennai on 28 March 1968.

After Michael Atherton's retirement, Hussain got the captaincy of England and became the 72nd Test captain of England. During his stint as the captain, England played 45 Tests and 56 ODIs. He led them to 17 Test victories in the 45 Tests that he captained. The team also won 28 ODIs under his reign.

England won many series abroad under his captaincy. Currently, he is working as a full-time commentator with Sky Sports.

#3 Lisa Sthalekar (Australia)

Lisa Sthalekar

Lisa Carprini Sthalekar happens to be one of the most popular Australian cricketers today. She holds the record for being the first woman cricketer to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in One-Day Internationals. Lisa is the first female board member of the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).

Lisa Sthalekar was the vice-captain of Australian national women's cricket team. She was also the first player of Indian origin to become a member of the Australian team. Sthalekar was named Australia Women’s Cricketer of the year in – 2007 and 2008.

#4 Rohan Kanhai (West Indies)

Rohan Kanhai

Rohan Kanhai was a great batsman. The West Indies team of the 70s was the best in the world and that team used to rule the world. In that era, Indian-origin Rohan Kanhai led the West Indies team in 13 Test matches between 1972/73 and 1973/74 seasons.

He marked his debut in 1957 and retired in 1974 after leading West Indies to three Test wins and seven draws. He was also their first ODI captain. He scored 6,000 runs in his great career before announcing retirement.

#5 Aasif Karim (Kenya)

Aasif Karim

Aasif hails from an Indian community living in the port town of Mombasa in Kenya. Aasif Karim was a long-standing captain of the national team. He played a total of 34 one-day matches and led the country for 21 ODIs and won six of them.

In the 2003 World Cup held in South Africa, Kenya's team reached the semi-finals for the first time. 2003 World Cup semi-final was the last match of his international career. He also won the man of the match award against Australia in the same tournament.