South Africa have been one of the top-ranked teams in cricket history for a long time, but they have been marred by players leaving the nation to play for another country. Several South Africa-born players are currently playing for the cricket teams of England, Australia and New Zealand at the international level.
While a few of them tried to make a career in the Proteas jersey before leaving the rainbow nation, a majority of them left the nation and then made a career in cricket. There have also been such instances when a cricketer first played for the Proteas at the international level, announced retirement and then made debut for another nation.
In this listicle today, we will look at the three cricketers who first played for South Africa in T20Is and then played for another nation.
1. Former South Africa player Roelof van der Merwe
Former Proteas all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe set the stage on fire in the recently-concluded SA20 tournament, where he bowled some impressive spells. Roelof did the same job for the Proteas in 2009 and 2010 before he lost his place in the team. Four years later, he joined the Netherlands and currently plays for the Dutch team as well.
2. David Wiese
David Wiese is another all-rounder to feature on this list. Wiese bowls right-arm pace and also smacks big shots with the ball. Incidentally, both Wiese and van der Merwe once played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. Wiese has moved to Namibia now and has been playing in T20I cricket for them.
3. Former South Africa bowler Rusty Theron
Right-arm pacer Rusty Theron was known for his brilliance in the death overs. Theron played nine T20Is for the Proteas from 2010 to 2012. He moved to the USA later and made T20I debut for America in 2021 and is still a part of their squad.
