As India lost the T20I series to Ireland in a major upset on Sunday, a name took over the headlines by storm: Jai Moondra, an Indian-origin left-arm fast-medium bowler. Moondra made his international debut for Ireland during the 1st T20I against India in Belfast, as the two teams began a new era in the format. The Men in Blue were clear favourites to win the series, as they had completely dominated the format in the past three years, including two T20 World Cup wins. Yet, the Irish pacer had different plans.
On his debut in the 1st T20I, Moondra took two important wickets of Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson, both players having a terrifying World Cup at home. By the second T20I, the 29-year-old had already made his mark, and he put up another stellar outing by taking three wickets. He dismissed both the Indian openers on a golden duck and the Indian skipper, Shreyas Iyer.ย
Moondra is among those Indian-born cricketers who have made their mark across nations. We have already seen the likes of Saurabh Netravalkar, Nikhil Chaudhary and Unmukt Chand doing well in other countries. Here we take an insight into the journeys of five Indian-born cricketers who are doing well in other countries.
1 – Jai Moondra: The 29-year-old Moondra was born in the town of Tonk in Rajasthan on January 10, 1997. He began his professional career as a fast bowler. However, he developed himself into a top-order batter and a left-arm spinner. He then came back to fast bowling.ย ย
Moondra thought about leaving cricket in 2019; however, he gave one final shot to the sport. He moved to Ireland in 2021 on a student visa to pursue an M Tech degree and kept playing the sport as he joined the Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin.ย
The Rajasthan-born player obtained Irish citizenship in 2025 and continued to impress in Ireland’s domestic cricket. Moondra developed himself into an aggressive lower-order to complement his left-arm pace. He was then called up to the Ireland senior side in 2026.ย
2 – Saurabh Netravalkar: USA’s Netravalkar is another Indian-born player who had a game-changing World Cup in 2024 and took the world by shock by taking the his team to the Super 8s of the global showpiece.
It is worth noting that Netravalkar, who put up game-changing performances against India and Pakistan in the 2024 T20 World Cup, had represented India in the U-19 Internationals and finished the 2010 edition of the U-19 World Cup as the leading wicket-taker.
Despite his performances, Netravalkar had to give up on his dreams of playing international cricket for India and moved to the US to work as a software engineer in 2015. “Cricket was over for me. I had no hope or expectation left to play again,” he said to the British agency, BBC.
3 – Nikhil Chaudhary: Another Indian-born player making headlines abroad is Nikhil Chaudhary, whose rise through Australian domestic cricket eventually earned him an international debut. Chaudhary, who holds permanent Australian residency, scripted history earlier this month by becoming the first Indian-origin person in six decades to play for Australia in the recent T20I series against Bangladesh.
The 30-year-old is a spin-bowling all-rounder and was born in Delhi in 1996. He moved to Australia in 2020. Initially, he visited Queensland, Australia, to visit his uncle, but had to remain in the country for much longer due to COVID restrictions.ย
Chaudhary had lined himself up for an Australia call-up after an impressive 2025-26 domestic season, playing several pivotal knocks in the BBL for the Hobart Hurricanes, including 79 off 38 balls against the Melbourne Renegades and an 11-ball 24 in the knockout match against the Melbourne Stars.ย
“It was probably the best moment of my life to actually hear from the Australian selector that I’ve been called up for the series,” Chaudhary told ESPNcricinfo.
4 – Unmukt Chand: Unlike Netravalkar, who was not known much in India during his domestic days, Unmukt Chand had already established himself as one of India’s brightest young talents after leading the U19 side to the 2012 World Cup. However, Chand missed out on playing for the senior Indian side, and he switched borders much later to pursue opportunities abroad.ย
Born in 1993, he dominated the cricketing headlines through his technical batting, strong captaincy, and his exciting knock in the final of the U-19 World Cup. Despite his strong performances in the tournament, Chand was unable to translate his performances into the Indian Premier League and was eventually dropped from his Delhi state team and went unsold in the IPL auctions of 2017 and 2018.
Chand retired from Indian cricket in 2021 to pursue opportunities in the United States. While he has featured extensively in domestic franchise competitions across North America, he is yet to make his international debut for the United States.
5 – Nasser Hussain: Perhaps the biggest name on this list is former England captain Nasser Hussain. Nasser was born in Chennai, India, to Raza Jawad Hussain and Shireen Hussain. Raza, his father, is of Indian descent, while his mother is of English descent. Interestingly, Raza had also played domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu against Andhra in the 1964-65 Ranji Trophy.ย
At the age of seven, Nasser left India, along with his parents, and went on to represent and captain England as a top-order batter. Hussain made his name with some stellar performances for England. He played 96 Tests and 88 ODIs for the Three Lions, scoring 5764 runs in the longest format and 2332 in the 50-over setup.
From Nasser’s rise with England to Moondra’s dream debut for Ireland, Indian-born cricketers continue to leave their mark across international cricket, proving that talent often finds opportunities far beyond home.
Written by Bhavye Dhalla. Bhavye Dhalla is an intern with IndiaTV Digital.
ALSO READ |ย More history for Ireland, India’s T20I dominance comes to a halt with 2-0 series defeat in Belfast