Before Imran Tahir left his native Pakistan in 2006 he was approaching 30 and international cricket was passing him by. But a chance meeting with a South African woman changed his life and the fortunes of Graeme Smith's team.
Before Imran Tahir left his native Pakistan in 2006 he was approaching 30 and international cricket was passing him by. But a chance meeting with a South African woman changed his life and the fortunes of Graeme Smith's team.
After following her to South Africa, he became a citizen there and soon came to the notice of the selectors. Now he could become their World Cup saviour, guiding the team to the title for the first time.
On Saturday, Tahir was forced to watch from behind the boundary ropes when South Africa took on India in Group B at Nagpur but he expects to return to play a full role in their hoped-for progress towards the April 2 final in Mumbai.
He has suffered a broken finger to his non-bowling left hand which doctors have advised him to rest.
Already he has made waves in the sub-continental tournament, snatching 11 wickets with his leg spin in three games against the West Indies, Netherlands and England.
Tahir's marriage to Sumayya, who he lives with in her home city of Durban, has enabled him to sample big-time cricket after he qualified to represent his adopted country in January.
One-dimensional
The Proteas, meantime, have added a new line of attack in a bowling attack that was always seen as one-dimensional in favour of pace.
"It was frustrating at times in Pakistan but I always believed that I was going to play international cricket, especially after I married my wife," Tahir, who will be 32 this month, told Reuters in an interview.
"It has been a long road to get where I am today and I think each challenge has played a part in shaping the kind of person and cricketer that I am.
"It's difficult to say whether I would have played at this level for Pakistan - I can't predict where I would have been if I had stayed," he added.
"Sometimes all you need is that big break and I am grateful that I got one during my career."
Tahir is not alone as a Pakistani exile representing another country in the event. Canada all-rounder Rizwan Cheema is another example of exported Pakistani talent.
The presence of Pakistan's most successful spin bowler in Tests, Danish Kaneria, no doubt reduced Tahir's chances of representing Pakistan.
However, successful spells in England with Hampshire and Warwickshire and in South Africa with Titans finally earned him international recognition.
Tahir's parents are dead but his brothers and sisters remain in Pakistan, proud of a brother who now shares a dressing room with Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.
"It is a dream come true," he said. "I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be part of this great South African team, playing with world-class players like AB (de Villiers), Graeme (Smith) and Jacques (Kallis). They have all made me feel welcome.
"I have always admired South African cricket and the cricketing culture. And when I married my wife the opportunity to become a South African citizen came about and I saw it as an opportunity to experience what I have always respected and looked up to."
He acknowledged that his experience in English county cricket, especially, had helped him to polish his raw skills and given him a self-belief that was not there previously just through bowling to world-class players on a daily basis.
This has not been demonstrated better than at this World Cup where he has shown a willingness to bowl his full variety of deliveries in his first over, such as an accurate, prodigiously turning googly that he has perfected. Ultimately, Tahir has given South Africa a potent variety that they have probably lacked from a world-class spin bowler since Hugh Tayfield in the 1950s. Therefore, it is no surprise there is an overwhelming confidence in and around the team.
A side that reached the semi-finals in 1992, 1999 and 2007 seems ready to go a couple of stages further.
"There is no doubt that we are here to win the World Cup," Tahir said. "The (six-run) loss to England was disappointing but we have moved on and are ready for the next challenge.
"The players are geared up and positive. We know that loss doesn't mean it's the end of the tournament for us, we want to regain our winning momentum.
"We have felt how it feels to lose and the team will use that bad feeling to prosper when it is needed most."
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