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5 cricketers from 'minnow' teams who could have turned heads for other countries

Virat Kohli congratulating Brendon Taylor after his century

The gentleman’s game is played all around the globe but only a few countries have excelled at it. That said, there have been a lot of players who have performed exceptionally well for their nations. Since cricket is a team game where all the 11 players’ contribution is equally important, it’s hard for one exceptional player to take an ordinary team to the pinnacle of success.

Whilst the cricketing giants have always boasted of superstars who have been celebrated, once in a while someone from a not-so-cricket-dominant nation pops up and makes us wonder “what if”. These players were not fortunate enough to play in a quality squad, but their cricketing skills, consistency and understanding of the game could have easily fetched them a place in some of the top cricketing nations.

What if they were born in a country that held cricket in high esteem and had a team that was world class? Here are 5 such talented players who could have made a difference in other cricketing sides.

#1 Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe)

brendan taylor
Taylor after scoring a century against India in 2015 WC

The successful right-handed batsman and former captain of Zimbabwe had a great ODI career, scoring 5,258 runs in 167 ODIs with a highest score of 145*. The wicket-keeper batsman also has 8 centuries and 32 fifties to his name.

He was, in fact, the first Zimbabwean to score back to back ODI centuries, a feat the batsman achieved twice – once in 2011 and again in the 2015 World Cup. His last ODI was against India in the 2015 World Cup where he scored a scintillating 138 and was praised by every Indian cricketer. Taylor had a good time with the gloves too, with 98 catches and 20 stumpings to his name.

The Zimbabwean retired from the international scene after the 2015 World Cup and is now playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire

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