From Punjab To The Baggy Green: Nikhil Chaudhary Earns Maiden Call-Up For Bangladesh T20Is

Spin bowling all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary, who holds Permanent Residency in Australia, on Thursday became the first Indian-born male player in over six decades to feature in Australia's cricket squad when he was named in the T20 side for the upcoming away series against Bangladesh.

The three-match series will be held in Chattogram from June 17 to 21. Chaudhary has been playing for JB Bruges in the EUT20 competition in Belgium and was with the Delhi Capitals in the recent IPL.

He will join Australia's white-ball outfits in Dhaka on Friday.

"The panel has been impressed by his BBL form, particularly last season, leading to his addition to the squad," selector Tony Dodemaide was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"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," he added.

"Australia has had several Indian-origin players feature in international cricket, including Gurinder Sandhu and Tanveer Sangha, but not since the 1960s (when Rex Sellars, a Gujarat-born leg-spinner who featured in the 1964 Calcutta Test) has an Indian-born man played for the national side," the website stated.

Lisa Sthalekar, who was born in Pune, played women's cricket for Australia and is counted among the greats of the game. Sthalekar debuted in 2003 and went on to play across formats till 2013.

The 30-year-old Chaudhary is not an Australian citizen yet but being a permanent resident, he "fulfils the International Cricket Council's eligibility criteria to play for his adopted nation."

The Delhi-born player showed up for 14 List-A games for Punjab in his country of origin.

He was visiting an uncle in Queensland when his stay was extended thanks to a shutdown forced by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. While here, he took up odd jobs, including being a postman before catching the eye of former Australia all-rounder James Hopes, who initiated him into local cricket.

"After helping Hobart to the BBL|14 title, his best season with the bat came last summer, slamming 307 runs at 30.70 and a strike-rate of 153, although he had a reduced role with the ball due to the recruitment of fellow wrist-spinners Rehan Ahmed and Rishad Hossain," cricket.com.au reported.

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.