Never been to Italy, will still play T20 World Cup. (Photo- Joe Allison-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
JJ Smuts, T20 World Cup 2026: T20 World Cup 2026 is going to start from 7th February. A total of 20 teams will be seen playing in this tournament. The name of Italy is also included in these teams. This is a historic moment for Italy cricket, because this is their first T20 World Cup. The team had qualified for the Europe Regional Finals by finishing second behind Netherlands. In Group C, Italy has to face teams like Scotland, Nepal, West Indies and England. This team also includes a player who has never been to Italy.
Never been to Italy, will still play T20 World Cup
All-rounder JJ Smuts, who is a former international cricketer of South Africa, has been included in the squad of Italy’s team for the T20 World Cup. JJ Smuts was born in South Africa and played domestic cricket there for 19 years. During this period, he also played 6 ODI and 13 T20 matches for South Africa at the international level. However, 4 years ago this all-rounder acquired Italian citizenship through marriage and has now entered the World Cup field with his new team.
JJ Smits received an Italian passport because of his wife Judy’s Italian origins. At the same time, after two years of discussion with the Italian Cricket Federation, the decision was taken to include him in the team. But the surprising thing is that he has never even visited Italy. JJ Smuts has played 3 matches for Italy so far, but all these matches have been played outside Italy. He is known for his aggressive batting and economical left-arm spin. In this tournament, he is the most experienced player in the Italy team and is playing the role of mentor, senior figure and ambassador for the team.
Cricket career of JJ Smuts
JJ Smuts has played 6 ODIs and 16 T20Is so far. During this period, he has scored 180 runs in ODIs and taken 4 wickets. At the same time, he scored 211 runs and took 4 wickets in T20I. At the same time, in T20 cricket, he has 5006 runs and 133 wickets in his name in 230 matches.