Asia Cup 2022: Five players who could have played in the tournament but moved to other nations

Players have changed the country from their home country in cricket and there have been many instances of it in the past. Kevin Pietersen, who was born in South Africa, went on to become one of the greatest players for England. Jofra Archer, the Caribbean, went to represent England and won the World Cup in the year 2019.

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The Asia Cup 2022 will kick off on August 27 in the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka will face Afghanistan in the tournament opener. With the Asia Cup 2022 set to get underway in just two days, we decided to handpick some of the players who could have played for their respective nations instead of other nations. Let's take a look at five such players who could have played in the Asia Cup 2022 but moved to other nations:

1) Mark Chapman (Moved from Hong Kong to New Zealand):

Mark Chapman moved from Hong Kong to New Zealand (Image Source: Twitter)

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Mark Chapman now plays for New Zealand and is initially from Hong Kong. The 28-year-old was born in Hong Kong and went on to represent the Blackcaps in limited over internationals.

Had he represented Hong Kong, he would have played in the Asia Cup 2022. The southpaw was a powerhouse for Hong Kong as he top scored for his team with 70 in the 2011 World Cricket League Division Three tournament finals against Papua New Guinea.

2) Tim David (Moved from Singapore to Australia):

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Tim David moved from Singapore to Australia (Image Source: Twitter)

The Singapore star Tim David rose to power with his exceptional performances in domestic leagues. He plays for the Mumbai team in the Indian T20 League and represented the Bangalore team earlier. Considered one of the best to have ever represented Singapore, he went to represent Singapore in 14 T20Is.

The aggressive batter could have played for Singapore had he not decided to move to Australia. He could have helped his nation qualify for the Asia Cup 2022.

3) Anshuman Rath (Moved from Hong Kong to India):

Anshuman Rath moved from Hong Kong to India (Image Source: Twitter)

Anshuman Rath captained the Hong Kong team in the previous edition of the Asia Cup. He played well for the team and is now representing Odisha in Indian domestic cricket after getting Indian citizenship.

The player could have captained his team once again had he represented Hong Kong. However, the tables have turned and he might represent India in the future if the opportunity arises.

4) Izatullah Dawlatzai (Moved from Afghanistan to Germany)

Izatullah Dawlatzai moved from Afghanistan to Germany (Image Source: Twitter)

The 31-year-old is an Afghan cricketer and made his way to the Afghanistan National Team on the back of stupendous performances. Highly talented, the pacer went on to represent Afghanistan in internationals and produced some superb spells.

He was considered to be one of the best and then he decided to move to Germany. This came as a setback for Afghanistan and Dawlatzai went on to play for Germany. He could have been a part of the Asia Cup 2022 if he remained in Afghanistan.

5) Shehan Jayasuriya (From Sri Lanka to the United States of America):

Shehan Jayasuriya moved from Sri Lanka to the United States of America (Image Source: Twitter)

Shehan Jayasuriya is initially from Sri Lanka. He went on to represent Sri Lanka in 12 ODIs and 18 T20Is for the island nation.

He was one of the upcoming all-rounders for Sri Lanka until he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2021. The all-rounder then moved to the United States of America to live with his family and was drafted for Minor League Cricket there.