Players to switch from Associate Nations to Full Member nations [Source: AFP]Throughout the history of cricket, we have seen numerous examples of players moving from the ICC Full Member nations to the Associate nations in pursuit of realising their dream to play at the international level.However, it is not too often that we see players switching from the other way around. It takes a lot of promise for a player from the associates to be integrated into a Full Member team. The latest example is Emilio Gay, who represented Italy before being picked by England for the three-match Test series against New Zealand in the 2026 summer.In this article, we explore more such prominent players who made such moves, having already played international cricket for an associate nation.1. Eoin Morgan - Ireland to EnglandThe former England captain Eoin Morgan is the biggest example of a player to play for an Associate nation before moving to a Full Member nation. He made his international debut in August 2006, representing Ireland against Scotland and scored 99(134) and played 23 ODIs for them till April 2009.Having scored one hundred and 5 fifties during his time for Ireland. He was roped in by England just a month after his final appearance for the former, scoring an unbeaten 84. He went on to play 356 internationals for England with over 10,000 runs across formats.As of May 2026, he is their most-capped ODI player (225) and fourth-most capped international player. He also led their white-ball revolution after 2015 and led them to their first-ever ICC World Cup triumph in 2019 at home.2. Dirk Nannes - Netherlands to AustraliaThose who watched Dirk Nannes bowl during the late 2000s and early 2010s, knew what a menace the left-hand bowler was during his peak. Constantly clocking around 150 kmph during the World T20 2009, Nannes represented only twice in T20I cricket before he was swooped in by Australia later in the same year.While his Australian international career only lasted for 15 T20Is, picking 27 wickets and one ODI, picking a solitary wicket, he was the leading wicket-taker in World T20 2010, helping Australia reach the final with 14 wickets in 7 innings. Having first played international cricket at 33, his career was shortened due to the emergence of youngsters.Also Read: Hardik Pandya MI Captaincy: IPL Teams Who Can Target All-Rounder For Captaincy In IPL 20273. Tim David - Singapore to AustraliaAustralia's explosive middle-order batter, Tim David, who is a prominent name in T20 cricket around the globe, first made his mark during his time with the Singapore national team. From 2019 to 2020, he scored 558 runs in 14 innings for them at an unprecedented strike rate of 158.52, with four fifties.Since making his move to Australia in 2022, he has played 57 T20Is for them and scored 1044 runs at a strike rate of 174 with five fifties and a hundred. He has also played 4 ODIs in 2023, but is currently out of that squad.4. Mark Chapman - Hong Kong to New ZealandThe New Zealand middle-order batter, Mark Chapman, has been a mainstay of their white-ball setup since 2018, having almost played 100 T20Is and 30 ODIs. However, before making his name for the Blackcaps, the southpaw played for Hong Kong during the 2013 to 2016 period, in 32 T20Is and two ODIs, including the T20 World Cup 2016.He scored 522 runs in 29 T20I innings, while having 151 runs in two ODIs, including the best score of 124. For New Zealand, he has scored 2463 runs across formats in 103 innings so far, with three hundreds and 13 fifties.5. Emilio Gay - Italy to EnglandThe latest addition to this list is the left-hand batter Emilio Gay, who is poised to get his England debut in the summer of 2026 against New Zealand, replacing Zak Crawley at the top. Previously, he has played three T20Is for Italy in 2025 and scored a fifty against Scotland during their T20 World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.At the back of his County Championship form for Durham, he is now expected to fix the top-order woes in Test cricket. Currently, with three hundred and a fifty in 5 matches of the County Championship 2026, he has 552 runs at an average of 69.52, only second to teammate David Bedingham's 554 runs in Division Two.Also Read: SRH Labelled As ‘Boom Or Bust IPL Team’
