From Ludhiana to Australia’s BBL, Nikhil charts unique journey
Nikhil Chaudhary was born in Delhi but his family moved to Ludhiana when he was 2. His cricket journey started in his teens when his coach Charanjit Banghu trained him to become an all-rounder so that the lad could play for Punjab and make a mark
Cricketer Nikhil Chaudhary is living a dream. A 27-year-old all-rounder from Ludhiana, Punjab, is playing in the ongoing Australian T20 Big Bash League (BBL) representing Hobart Hurricanes becoming the second Indian to do so after Unmukt Chand, who did it two years ago.
Courtesy his debut BBL season, Chaudhary met his childhood hero Brett Lee during the veteran Australian bowler’s commentary stint in the league and was over the moon. “I started as a fast bowler when I started playing cricket and deliberately copied Lee’s action and wanted to become an accomplished quickie like him. However, it did not last long and I eventually became leggie. I am enjoying playing in the BBL after toiling hard in Australia for three-and-half years. Me and Lee chatted during an interaction in Hindi as well (laughs),” said Chaudhary, who made his successful BBL debut last week against Perth Scorchers scoring 30-ball 40.
His power-hitting abilities are coming to the fore in the league attracting eyeballs. “I did not know I was getting a chance to play against Perth Scorchers and it would have been my debut. At the last moment, Mattew Wade got injured and I was his replacement in the playing XI,” said Chaudhary, who worked as a delivery boy for Australia Post for a period of two years before he signed up for Hobart Hurricanes. Chaudhary came in spotlight after he clobbered Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf to slam 32 off just 16 balls against Melbourne Stars not to forget he has been taking handful of wickets with his leg-breaks.
Chaudhary was born in Delhi but his family moved to Ludhiana when he was 2. His cricket journey started in his teens when his coach Charanjit Banghu trained him to become an all-rounder so that the lad could play for Punjab and make a mark. Having played for Punjab U-16s and U-19s, Chaudhary earned a good reputation as an all-rounder and went on to make his List-A (Vijay Hazare Trophy) and T20 (Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy) debut in 2017 under Harbhajan Singh’s captaincy.
“I was doing well for Punjab at that age and was aiming for a Ranji Trophy debut. But destiny had planned something else for me,” added Chaudhary, who moved to Brisbane for a holiday in March 2020 with his uncle. However, his stay prolonged as travelling restrictions came into being due to the raging global pandemic. “When I realised I could not travel back to Ludhiana for some months I was confused. But then cricket being my first love I started playing at the local level. Impressed by my skills, I got selected for Southern Suburbs Brisbane and that is when my real cricket journey started in Australia,” said Chaudhary, who was a replacement player for Brisbane Heat for two seasons but had not got a chance to play in the BBL.
It was Southern Suburbs coach and former Australian pacer James Hopes who recommended Chaudhary’s name for Hobart Hurricanes for the ongoing BBL. “James thought I should be part of the BBL this season as I had a good domestic season. And I got the contract,” added Chaudhary. Hopes is Hurricanes bowling coach in the BBL.
Chaudhary tried to be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by appearing for Mumbai Indians (MI) trials twice but could not crack it. His friends from Punjab cricket, including Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Siddharth Kaul and Nehal Wadhera, all are part of the IPL and Chaudhary enjoys speaking to them about the Indian domestic league.
“Right now my focus is on the BBL and winning matches for my team. We need as many as four wins to qualify for the next stage. And if I ever get any chance to be part of the other leagues, it would be great,” said Chaudhary, who also is friends with Australian cricketers of Indian-origin, such as Gurinder Sandhu and Tanveer Sangha who are playing the BBL too.
