India-born all-rounder enters Australian squad
Delhi-born uncapped spin all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary has earned his maiden call-up to the Australian national cricket team for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. National selectors drafted the 30-year-old into the white-ball squad following the sudden withdrawal of star batter Travis Head due to personal leave. If named in the final playing eleven during the tour, Chaudhary will create history by becoming the first India-born male cricketer to represent Australia in over six decades. Historical records show that the last India-born male cricketer to don the baggy green or represent the nation at the senior international level was leg-spinner Rex Sellers. Born in Gujarat, Sellers made his solitary Test appearance for Australia in 1964 during a tour match against India in Kolkata. While several players of Indian heritage like Gurinder Sandhu and Tanveer Sangha have featured for the team recently, none were born in India.
Fascinatingly, Chaudhary was merely visiting an uncle in Queensland back in 2020 when sudden COVID-19 pandemic border closures trapped him Down Under. Forced to stay, the former Punjab domestic cricketer who once shared a dressing room with Shubman Gill shifted his sporting focus to local grade cricket. His exceptional performance for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League eventually caught the eye of national selector Tony Dodemaide. Chaudhary is currently playing league cricket in Belgium after spending the earlier part of the year with the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League.
Cricket Australia confirmed that the entire three-match short-format series will take place at Chattogram, beginning June 17. The newly selected all-rounder will join the rest of the squad in Dhaka to prepare for subcontinental pitch conditions.
