As the Delhi Daredevils walked out at Kingsmead in the morning, the line-up was a who’s who of world cricket. Virender Sehwag, Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori, Paul Collingwood, Owais Shah, AB de Villiers, Gautam Gambhir, Tillakaratne Dilshan... and Dirk Nannes.

Dirk, who?

The left-arm seamer, it could be said, is the first player from Holland to play in the IPL. Born to Dutch parents, the double passport-holder who played for Victoria in Australian domestic cricket, switched his allegiance after the Aussie selectors overlooked him for the World Twenty20 squad despite a series of big performances on the circuit. Nannes will turn out for The Netherlands in the 2011 World Cup — a rather unusual shift in world cricket that has seen case studies such as Graeme Hick, Kepler Wessels and Kevin Pietersen.

“Am I the first Dutch guy? Let me think about it. Hmm, yes I really am!” Nannes jokes when asked about the switch. “Look, it’s nice to be regarded a Dutch player now. I was always very Dutch — I had two passports and I always had the option of switching over. Australia was always the first option, I had grown up there and played all cricket there. But I realised that I wasn’t going to get a chance ever — there were several times when they could’ve picked me but didn’t. The Australian team is going through a transition phase, and they wouldn’t pick someone who is 32,” he says.

“For me, playing the World Cup is very important. It’s the pinnacle of the sport and any one would like the feeling of having been there. It gives me a chance to show the Australian selectors what they’ve missed,” Nannes says, without blinking.

... contd.