From Wiki:
Italy has historically featured a large number of dual nationals in its squads at ICC tournaments, particularly Australian, English and South African players of Italian descent, who have never resided in Italy and do not play in Italian domestic cricket.The team withdrew from the 2001 ICC Trophy after the ICC ruled that citizenship by descent would not be sufficient for player eligibility, thereby disqualifying four members of the Italian squad including former Australian domestic player Joe Scuderi.
In 2023, it was reported that Italy had pursued a strategy of recruiting professional cricketers from Australia and England to play in the regional final of the 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, including South African Wayne Madsen and Australians Ben Manenti, Harry Manenti and Spencer Johnson. The recruits, while holding Italian passports and meeting ICC regulations for representing the country, had only tenuous direct connections with Italy.
Italy's squad for its inaugural appearance at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup included no Italian-born players. Only five out of the fifteen players named in the World Cup squad were Italian residents, all of whom had immigrated from South Asian countries as teenagers or young adults. JJ Smuts, a South African franchise player, was named in Italy's squad after acquiring Italian citizenship via his wife, whose great-grandfather was born in Italy.
Still, hopefully it gets some press attention and encourages others to give it a go.
