Pakistani sportsmen have done well whenever they have been given a chance at the international level. However, there have been some Pakistanis who have done well when they have been given chances to represent other nations.
Amir Khan is probably the most recognized international athlete of Pakistani descent. Not only does he visit his native country but also wears the national colours when he is fighting the best boxers in the world. He may be an English professional boxer, but whenever he wins, he terms it as a win for his native and adopted country – Pakistan and England. He is currently the unified IBF and WBA World Light Welterweight Champion, and had the distinction of becoming the youngest British world champions ever, winning the WBA world title, aged only 22
Haroon Iqbal Khan is Amir Khan’s brother and also a British boxer of Pakistani origin. When he was not selected to represent his adopted country for the Commonwealth Games last year, he chose to represent Pakistan and managed to bag the bronze medal.
Sajid Mehmood is an English cricketer who is related to Amir Khan and Haroon Iqbal. Born in England, he represented England in 8 Tests and 26 one dayers, taking as many as 20 Test wickets and 30 wickets in one day internationals.
Australian Test cricketer Usman Khawaja is a talented cricketer who represented Australia despite being born in Pakistan. He holds the record of being awarded player of the Australian Under 19 Championship in 2005 despite not being a born Australian, and managed to play Test cricket when captain Ricky Ponting sustained injury and was ruled out of an Ashes Test in 2010-11.
Owais Shah is one of the few players who have done well when given the chance. Born in Karachi in 1978, he migrated to England in the 80s and represented England in all forms of the game. Between 2001 and 2009, he played 71 ODIs, 17 Twenty20 Internationals as well as 6 tests. He has scored a century for his adopted country in one dayers where he has scored 1834 runs with the help of 12 fifties as well.
Ajmal Shahzad is currently a member of the English cricket team and has represented his adopted country in all forms of the game. He holds the distinction of being the only bowler to take wickets in his first over in both Twenty20 internationals as well as one dayers.
Adil Rashid is a leg spinner who graduated from England Under-19s to the senior team. He is a useful batsman as well and although he has taken 3 wickets in his 5 one day appearances, he has the potential to do more.
Despite being talented and a match winner, Kabir Ali is not in the English side. He has represented England in Test cricket and one dayers, and hopes to make a comeback in the national side.
Aftab Habib is a former English cricketer who represented England in 2 tests and later on went to coach the national team of Hong Kong.
Usman Afzaal also played 3 matches for England in 2001. For his consistent performance in the domestic circuit, he was awarded the Denis Compton Award in 1996.
Pakistanis have also done well in other sports. Rameez Junaid is an Australian Tennis player of Pakistani descent who has been representing his adopted country for the past 5 years. Rameez is one of the top 100 players double's player in the world and has also played doubles with Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in 2007.
Carla Khan is the first and so far only woman from the Khan Dynasty to play international squash. She is the granddaughter of former British Open champion Azam Khan and has won as many as five international titles so far.
And last, but not the least, Zia Mahmood represent America in bridge and ranks number 10 among Open World Grand Masters. He is a World Bridge Federation and American Contract Bridge League Grand Life Master and is regarded as one of the greatest players of the game.
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