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T20 World Cup 2026: The first week of T20 World Cup 2026 is going great. Many small teams have surprised the World Champions with strong performances. This time 20 countries are included in the tournament. There are many players in the tournament who are playing an ICC tournament for the first time. At the same time, there are some players included who have previously played ICC tournaments for some other country and are playing for some other country in this event. One player is also of Indian origin. This player has played Under-19 World Cup for India. Let us know about 5 such players who are playing in the 2026 T20 World Cup, but had earlier played in ICC tournaments for some other country.
Netherlands all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe is a big name in this list. He earned name by playing for South Africa in the beginning of his career. At the end of 2000, he played 26 matches for South Africa. Royaloff represented South Africa in the 2009 Champions Trophy and 2009, 2010 T20 World Cup.
His team reached the semi-finals in the 2009 T20 World Cup. After this he started playing for Netherlands and has played for Netherlands in the last four T20 World Cups (including 2026) and 2023 ODI World Cup.
USA fast bowler Ehsan Adil made his debut for USA in the match against Pakistan in the current tournament. 32 year old Adil played for Pakistan in the early 2010s. He played a total of 9 matches for Pakistan in Test and ODI. He was also a part of Pakistan’s team in the 2015 ODI World Cup. Till now, all 9 wickets in his international career are for Pakistan only. He did not get any wicket in the match against USA.
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New Zealand batsman Mark Chapman started his international career from Hong Kong. 31-year-old Chapman played 2 ODIs and 19 T20Is for Hong Kong. He represented Hong Kong in the 2014 and 2016 T20 World Cups.
In the 2016 T20 World Cup, he played an inning of 60 runs against Scotland, which was his highest score. After this he started playing for New Zealand and has been in the New Zealand team in the last three T20 World Cups (including 2026).
USA batsman Shehan Jayasuriya has previously been a part of the Sri Lankan team. 34-year-old Shehan has not yet made his debut for USA, but has played 30 international matches for Sri Lanka. He played 2 matches for Sri Lanka in the 2016 T20 World Cup. Overall he has 436 runs and 6 wickets in his international career.
USA spin all-rounder Harmeet Singh is the only player who has previously played in the Under-19 World Cup for another country. 33 year old Harmeet played for none other than India in the 2010 and 2012 Under-19 World Cups. He played an important role in India’s victory in the 2012 Under-19 World Cup.
He took 2 wickets against New Zealand in the semi-finals and gave an excellent bowling performance of 0/30 in 10 overs against Australia in the final. He has taken 7 wickets in 8 matches for USA in the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cup.