Interesting journey of Gary Ballance who played for both England and Zimbabwe
Gary Ballance was born on November 22, 1989, in Zimbabwe.
He played for Zimbabwe at the Under-19 level before moving to England in 2006.
Ballance made his List A debut for Derbyshire against West Indies A on August 6, 2006.
Upon the advice of England great Geoffrey Boycott, Ballance joined the Yorkshire Academy in 2008.
He considers India legend Sachin Tendulkar as his icon.
Ballance made his international debut for England in an ODI game against Ireland on September 03, 2013.
A few months later, in January 2014, the left-handed batter played his maiden Test against Australia in Sydney.
The opening batter was named Cricketer of the Year in the 2015 edition of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
His career then failed to take off due to inconsistent performances, and couldn't cement his place in the national side.
Following an investigation into racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club in 2022, he admitted using racial slurs at fellow player Azaam Rafique and was suspended from selection by ECB.
He moved back to Zimbabwe and relaunched his career to become one of the very few cricketers to represent two countries in the international arena.
Ballance smashed a century against West Indies, which made him only the second person to score a Test match ton for two different countries, after Kepler Wessels.
On April 19, 2023, Ballance announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.