T20 World Cup Star Will Represent Nation He's Never Visited Before
A T20 World Cup player will represent a nation he's never visited before during the 2026 tournament.
JJ Smuts played six ODIs and 13 T20Is for South Africa between 2017 and 2021.
A hard-hitting opening batter who also bowls off-spin, the now 37-year-old has one ODI half-century to his name, having hit 84 off 98 balls to help South Africa chase down 255 to defeat Australia in 2021.
At the beginning of 2026, Smuts decided to switch international allegiance and play for Italy.
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The South African qualifies for the European nation through his wife, who managed to secure him an Italian passport through ancestry.
Smuts received his documents four years ago, and has long served the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s three-year stand-down period to enable him to switch from a Full Member nation to an Affiliate.
Several members of Italy's squad, including captain Wayne Madsen and all-rounder Grant Stewart, were not born in Italy but qualified through heritage.
While Madsen (born in South Africa) and Stewart (in Australia) represent Derbyshire and Kent respectively in English county cricket, Smuts plays in the South African domestic system.
But Smuts is in a unique position to the rest of his team-mates - in that he has never actually been to Italy.
His three appearances for his new nation, all in T20s, took place against Ireland in Dubai last month.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo's Firdose Moonda, Smuts revealed that he had held talks with Italy's cricket board for 'about two years' before officially making the international allegiance switch, with scheduling conflicts cited as a reason why he didn't act sooner.
"Italian people are very passionate, so it all comes out when we play," he said.
"I've also just witnessed and experienced our first win against Ireland. It's obviously Italy's first win against a big nation. We feel we can compete with teams like that.
"I definitely will [visit Italy]. I think they're hoping to secure a facility this summer and build a turf wicket with multiple strips, so they can host games in Rome.
"There's lots for Italy to look forward to as they try to become more professional, not necessarily for someone like myself but for future cricketers in Italy."
Italy have been drawn into Group C in the initial group stage, alongside England, Nepal, West Indies and Scotland.
Nepal and Scotland are Associate sides, and while both are far more experienced at international level, Italy's maiden win over Ireland - who are an ICC Full Member - will give them confidence that they can pull off some big results.
"For us, it's about being able to be in that frame of mind where we are willing to compete and to fight it out with these big teams," Smuts, who also has type 1 diabetes, says.
"The joy of T20 cricket is, it takes one moment of brilliance from an individual to change a game."
Italy get their maiden T20 World Cup campaign underway when they take on Scotland at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Monday.
Ryan Smart