From Sikandar Raza to Rehan Ahmed: 30 Pakistan-origin cricketers set to play in T20 World Cup | Cricket Information

NEW DELHI: A few weeks in the past, the Li-Ning Star biking staff dominated the inaugural 2026 Pune Grand Tour. Apparently, that they had barely any main Chinese language riders of their ranks. It was paying homage to France’s 2018 World Cup-winning staff. From Kylian Mbappe to N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, France’s triumph was powered by gamers whose roots stretched throughout West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, and southern Europe.Through the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) sports activities presenter Paul Kennedy, a former footballer and present journalist, shared an eye-opening statistic: in Australia, on the Underneath-12 stage, near 40 p.c of children enjoying cricket are of South Asian heritage.

Kennedy even insisted, “Indian or South Asian heritage cricketers may truly be the reply for the way forward for cricket in Australia.”Elite sport has lengthy moved previous inflexible definitions of nationality. Athletes regularly signify a number of nations over the course of their careers, formed as a lot by migration and alternative as by birthplace.That actuality will once more be seen on the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup, to be performed in India and Sri Lanka, the place a number of squads replicate tales that journey far past their flags.Nowhere is that this extra evident than amongst gamers of South Asian origin. Whereas round 40 Indian-origin cricketers are anticipated to characteristic within the event, shut behind are these of Pakistani origin.In a rustic wealthy in expertise and with restricted area on the prime, the path to worldwide cricket usually requires a change of tackle.The UAE subject the biggest contingent, with 10 Pakistan-origin gamers of their squad.

Amongst them is pacer Muhammad Jawad Ullah, a 26-year-old from Malakand, whose path to the World Cup has been something however direct.For Jawad, cricket started as a recreation moderately than an ambition.Raised in a household of eight, the sport was performed with a tennis ball, squeezed in between duties. Teaching was absent, and construction was nonexistent.“In Pakistan, I solely performed tennis-ball cricket. There was no coach or skilled participant to information me. Many individuals informed me to hitch an academy for hard-ball cricket. I felt there have been so many proficient gamers who didn’t even get an opportunity, so I didn’t know what it was at the moment, perhaps worry or one thing else,” he informed TimesofIndia.com in an unique interplay final 12 months.The decisive break got here in 2020. With household obligations mounting, Jawad moved to the UAE and settled in Khor Fakkan, a quiet coastal city alongside the Gulf of Oman.The relocation introduced stability however little room for sport. He took up work as an electrician, with lengthy days starting early and ending late, the bodily toll leaving little power for cricket.What time he did discover was borrowed. “I didn’t get a lot time to play cricket, solely about one to 2 hours. Even then, I performed with a tennis ball as a result of enjoying with a tough ball requires plenty of time, at the very least 5 to 6 hours.”Jawad’s journey mirrors that of many who left Pakistan for part-time work overseas, stored their ardour alive on the margins, and have now discovered themselves on the World Cup stage.The Netherlands’ Saqib Zulfiqar represents a second-generation chapter. His father, Zulfiqar Ahmed, born in Sialkot in 1966, performed and later coached Dutch cricket, shaping a pathway that noticed all three of his sons signify the nation.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza’s journey started with an altogether totally different dream. His transfer from Sialkot to Zimbabwe was removed from simple, taking him via sudden detours that included aspirations of turning into a pilot and incomes a level in computing from a college in Glasgow, earlier than cricket lastly took centre stage after his household relocated to Zimbabwe.“The World Cup is absolutely essential in each cricketer’s life. And I at all times assume that for Zimbabwe to achieve extra respect in world cricket, collaborating in World Cups performs an enormous half. So we now have the mindset to go there and attempt to do very well, in order that we will come again with our targets set excessive and our individuals again residence can maintain their heads excessive,” Raza stated on the sidelines of the SA20.At 39, Raza now has one clear objective: to encourage the subsequent technology of Sikandars around the globe. “All I’m taking a look at is attempting to maintain doing the issues I’m doing to the very best of my means, and hopefully my performances can encourage different Sikandars in Zimbabwe and the world over,” he stated.Then there may be USA quick bowler Ali Khan, whose efficiency in opposition to Pakistan within the earlier T20 World Cup turned him into an in a single day speaking level.The 2 sides will meet once more on February 10.From Shayan Jahangir within the USA to Rehan Ahmed and Adil Rashid in England colors, from Italy and Scotland to Oman and Canada, the event reads like a map of contemporary migration.A sport as soon as segregated on racial strains in Africa and divided alongside social strains in England and Australia has turn out to be extra inclusive and various.The 30 Pakistan-origin gamers set to participate within the T20 World Cup 2026: