NEW DELHI: A couple of weeks ago, the Li-Ning Star cycling team dominated the inaugural 2026 Pune Grand Tour. Interestingly, they had barely any leading Chinese riders in their ranks. It was reminiscent of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning team. From Kylian Mbappe to N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, France’s triumph was powered by players whose roots stretched across West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, and southern Europe.During the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) sports presenter Paul Kennedy, a former footballer and current journalist, shared an eye-opening statistic: in Australia, at the Under-12 level, close to 40 percent of kids playing cricket are of South Asian heritage.
Kennedy even insisted, “Indian or South Asian heritage cricketers might actually be the answer for the future of cricket in Australia.”Elite sport has long moved past rigid definitions of nationality. Athletes frequently represent multiple countries over the course of their careers, shaped as much by migration and opportunity as by birthplace.That reality will again be visible at the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup, to be played in India and Sri Lanka, where several squads reflect stories that travel far beyond their flags.Nowhere is this more evident than among players of South Asian origin. While around 40 Indian-origin cricketers are expected to feature in the tournament, close behind are those of Pakistani origin.In a country rich in talent and with limited space at the top, the route to international cricket often requires a change of address.The UAE fields the largest contingent, with 10 Pakistan-origin players in their squad.
Pakistan-origin players in T20 World Cup 2026 (Graphic created by AI)
Among them is pacer Muhammad Jawad Ullah, a 26-year-old from Malakand, whose path to the World Cup has been anything but direct.For Jawad, cricket began as a recreation rather than an ambition.Raised in a family of eight, the game was played with a tennis ball, squeezed in between responsibilities. Coaching was absent, and structure was nonexistent.“In Pakistan, I only played tennis-ball cricket. There was no coach or experienced player to guide me. Many people told me to join an academy for hard-ball cricket. I felt there were so many talented players who did not even get a chance, so I didn’t know what it was at that time, maybe fear or something else,” he told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interaction last year.The decisive break came in 2020. With family obligations mounting, Jawad moved to the UAE and settled in Khor Fakkan, a quiet coastal town along the Gulf of Oman.The relocation brought stability but little room for sport. He took up work as an electrician, with long days beginning early and ending late, the physical toll leaving little energy for cricket.What time did he find was borrowed. “I didn’t get much time to play cricket, only about one to two hours. Even then, I played with a tennis ball because playing with a hard ball requires a lot of time, at least five to six hours.”Jawad’s journey mirrors that of many who left Pakistan for part-time work abroad, kept their passion alive on the margins, and have now found themselves on the World Cup stage.The Netherlands’ Saqib Zulfiqar represents a second-generation chapter. His father, Zulfiqar Ahmed, born in Sialkot in 1966, played and later coached Dutch cricket, shaping a pathway that saw all three of his sons represent the country.
Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza’s journey began with an altogether different dream. His move from Sialkot to Zimbabwe was far from straightforward, taking him through unexpected detours that included aspirations of becoming a pilot and earning a degree in computing from a university in Glasgow, before cricket finally took center stage after his family relocated to Zimbabwe.“The World Cup is really crucial in every cricketer’s life. And I always think that for Zimbabwe to gain more respect in world cricket, participating in World Cups plays a huge part. So we have the mindset to go there and try to do really well, so that we can come back with our goals set high and our people back home can hold their heads high,” Raza said on the sidelines of the SA20.At 39, Raza now has one clear goal: to inspire the next generation of Sikandars around the world. “All I’m looking at is trying to keep doing the things I’m doing to the best of my ability, and hopefully my performances can inspire other Sikandars in Zimbabwe and across the world,” he said.Then there is USA fast bowler Ali Khan, whose performance against Pakistan in the previous T20 World Cup turned him into an overnight talking point.The two sides will meet again on February 10.From Shayan Jahangir in the USA to Rehan Ahmed and Adil Rashid in England colours, from Italy and Scotland to Oman and Canada, the tournament reads like a map of modern migration.A game once segregated on racial lines in Africa and divided along social lines in England and Australia has become more inclusive and diverse.The 30 Pakistan-origin players set to take part in the T20 World Cup 2026: :
- USA: Shayan Jahangir, Ali Khan, Mohammad Mohsin
- Netherlands: Saqib Zulfikar
- Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza
- Oman: Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmad, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Shah Faisal, Nadeem Khan, Shafiq Jan, Aamir Kaleem
- England: Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid
- Italy: Zain Ali, Ali Hasan, Syed Naqvi
- Scotland: Safyaan Sharif
- Canada: Saad Bin Zafar
- UAE: Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Arfan, Junaid Siddique, Alishan Sharafu, Haider Ali, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawad Ullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rohid Khan, Sohaib Khan
