Nikhil Chaudhary, a spin bowling all-rounder, was picked in the T20 team for the forthcoming away series against Bangladesh on Thursday, making him the first male Indian-born player to appear on Australia’s cricket team in more than 60 years.
From June 17 to June 21, the three-match series will take place in Chattogram.
Chaudhary, who has permanent residency in Sydney, played for the Delhi Capitals in the 2026 Indian Premier League and for JB Bruges in the EUT20 tournament in Belgium.
He will join Australia’s white-ball teams 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 said on 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.
Born in Pune, Lisa Sthalekar represented Australia in women’s cricket and is regarded as one of the sport’s greatest players. Sthalekar made his stage debut in 2003 and continued to perform in various forms till 2013.
The 30-year-old Chaudhary “fulfils the International Cricket Council’s eligibility criteria to play for his adopted nation” despite not yet being an Australian citizen.
The player, who was born in Delhi, represented Punjab in 14 List-A matches back home. In 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic forced a shutdown, which prolonged his stay when he was visiting an uncle in Queensland. He worked at odd professions in Sydney, such as a postman, until he attracted the attention of former Australia all-rounder James Hopes, who introduced him to 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
