Table of Contents
A Delhi-born all-rounder, Nikhil Chaudhary is all set to make history for Australia. If he gets a chance on the ongoing Bangladesh tour, Nikhil Chaudhary could become the first Indian-born male cricketer in more than 60 years to play international cricket for Australia.
Chaudhary has been in line to make his Australia debut in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Chattogram. The youngster has been playing for JB Bruges in the EUT20 competition in Belgium after the recent IPL 2026, where he was part of the Delhi Capitals.
Nikhil Chaudhary set for a historic debut for Australia
On Thursday, June 11, Nikhil Chaudhary has now earned the Australia call-up for the Bangladesh tour after strong performances across different competitions. The Hobart Hurricanes leg-spinner is expected to join the Australian squad in Dhaka on Friday, June 12.
Nikhil will fight with Joel Davies and Aaron Hardie for a place in Australia’s playing XI in the upcoming three-match T20I series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in Chattogram. On the other hand, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh is recovering from an ankle injury but he will be ready to lead the side in the T20I series against Bangladesh.
The Australian selector Tony Dodemaide stated: “The panel has been impressed by his BBL form, particularly last season, leading to his addition to the squad. Nikhil will gain invaluable experience in Bangladesh and will be in contention to play his first game for Australia when we sit down to pick a team for the opening T20 fixture here next week.”
Australia T20I squad:
Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Nikhil Chaudhary, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa
Nikhil Chaudhary's journey from Delhi to Australia
Well, Indian-origin players like Gurinder Sandhu and Tanveer Sangha have already played for Australia, but an Indian-born male cricketer has not played for the senior team since the 1960s. The last was Rex Sellars, who was born in Gujarat and played in 1964.
In women’s cricket, Pune-born Lisa Sthalekar became a big star for Australia, but this kind of case is still very rare in men’s cricket. Now, Nikhil Chaudhary is set to make that history again. Chaudhary was born in Delhi and started his cricket journey in India.
He played domestic cricket for Punjab and shared the dressing room with players like Harbhajan Singh, Shubman Gill, and Abhishek Sharma. He was also part of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Later, during a visit to Australia in Queensland, he got stuck because of the COVID pandemic.
Struggle, hard work and big break in Australia
This changed his life completely, but things were not easy for him after getting stuck in Australia. He did small jobs like delivery work and also worked in a restaurant, where he even got a finger injury. But he did not stop chasing his dreams.
Slowly, his talent got noticed, and he earned a chance with the Hobart Hurricanes, following a recommendation from his grade coach, James Hopes. Since then, the all-rounder’s rise has been impressive, including a BBL title with the Hobart Hurricanes team and strong performances with the bat last year.
After that, Nikhil got a Tasmania state contract and even scored a century and took a five-wicket haul in the Sheffield Shield. The Australian selectors were really impressed with the fact that Nikhil grew up playing in the spin-friendly conditions, and now he is close to his historic Australia debut on the Bangladesh tour.
