CSK spinner Imran Tahir's actual nationality, wife and cricket career in South Africa

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star Imran Tahir has been the talk of the town in recent weeks after claiming that he was disappointed to not represent Pakistan in international cricket. The South African international has served the Proteas with distinction over the past decade, featuring in 20 Tests, 107 ODIs and 38 T20Is and picking up 57, 173 and 63 wickets respectively. The CSK star announced his retirement from ODI cricket at the end of the 2019 World Cup in England.

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The Imran Tahir nationality and CSK star's cricket career

Imran Tahir was born in Lahore, Pakistan and featured for the Pakistan U-19 and A teams before moving to South Africa in 2005. The CSK star's decision was made after failing to receive a full Pakistan call-up and became a resident of South Africa. With Sumayya Dildar, who is also known as the Imran Tahir wife, being a South African national, the CSK star needed to reside in the country for four years to become eligible to play for South Africa. The Imran Tahir nationality changed from Pakistani to South African as he became eligible in 2009 and subsequently with his performances in the domestic circuit, earned a call-up to the 2011 World Cup in India. Since then, he established himself as one of the stalwarts for South African cricket in limited-overs and is the only Proteas spinner to take over 100 wickets in ODIs.

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Imran Tahir nationality: CSK star reveals disappointment over never getting to play for Pakistan

While speaking to Geo Super, Imran Tahir said that he used to play cricket in Lahore and it played a major role in making him the player he has become today. The CSK star added that he played most of his cricket in Pakistan but did not get a chance to represent them, for which he is disappointed. The 41-year-old credited his wife for his move to South Africa and said that it was hard leaving Pakistan, but God blessed him in his journey.

The CSK star's comments drew criticism from Protea supporters and the leg-spinner addressed those claims in a tweet on  Thursday. The CSK star wrote that he tried his best to represent Pakistan but unfortunately didn’t happen. Tahir wrote that CSA gave him an opportunity to realise his dreams of playing international cricket for which he is grateful the rest of his life. The 41-year-old also said that 'once a Protea is a Protea forever.' Tahir was retained by CSK ahead of the IPL 2020 and the tournament is likely to be played in the UAE in September.

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(Image Courtesy: icc-cricket.com)