Nikhil Chaudhary has emerged as a rising star in the Big Bash League (BBL) thanks to all-round performances for Hobart Hurricanes. The 27-year-old, who represented the India U-19 cricket team, showed his mettle with the bat as he took Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf to the cleaners to hit 32 off just 16 balls against Melbourne Stars. Chaudhary was in news again during the match against Sydney Thunder as he stepped up with the ball and picked up two wickets to lead his team to victory.
Originally from Delhi, Chaudhary moved to Punjab with his family at a young age and his original dream was to become a fast bowler with an action similar to former Australian pacer Brett Lee. “I started off as a quick bower. Like Brett Lee, I wanted the same action as everyone else in school,” he told ESPNCricinfo.
The dreams of becoming a fast bowler were never fulfilled, but as an all-rounder he found success with the U-19 cricket team and was even selected for the Punjab team. During his stint with Punjab, he played with big names like Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh – an experience that helped him.
“I learned a lot of things from him like how to build an innings, tackle big targets and how to go deep into the innings,” Chaudhary said of Yuvraj during the interview. “I knew I could score runs at any stage of the game. I really wanted to make it to the IPL and also play for India.”
In 2019, Chaudhary tried twice with Mumbai Indians of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but there was no success. However, things changed when he traveled to Brisbane with his family for a holiday and with the borders closed due to COVID-19, the cricketer decided to try his luck in Australia.
“It was completely different from India and I love the culture here,” he said. “I wanted to continue my cricket in Australia. I just wanted a change and to grow as a person.”
While working as a courier at Australia Post, Chaudhary started playing club cricket for Northern Suburbs and it was his coach – former Australian cricketer James Hopes – who recommended his name to the Hobart Hurricanes, which eventually led to him being signed to a BBL contract received.
As a result, Chaudhary became only the second Indian-born cricketer, after Unmukt Chand, to play in the BBL and in a very short space of time he has proven to be a valuable asset for the Hurricanes.
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