All-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary recently made his international debut for Australia, but it isn't the country he honed his skills in. Born in Delhi, Chaudhary grew up playing professional cricket for Punjab and other teams in the northern part of India. He also shared the dressing room alongside legendary players like Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh in the early part of his career.
However, his life took an expected turn due to COVID-19, which forced him to stay in Australia for an extended period.
Once the lockdowns cleared, Chaudhary started playing locally in Brisbane. A meeting with James Hopes also helped him get his maiden Big Bash League contract, and since then, Chaudhary has become more of an Australian than an Indian at heart.
"It was my birthday plan. So from March to May, I already had my return tickets for India. I just went for holidays. My uncle was there. I got stuck in March. Covid happened. I probably got stuck for six months and then the next wave came on. So I got stuck for another three months and then obviously I started playing for Norths in Brisbane," Chaudary told as quoted by ESPN.
"And then that's where I met James Hopes. He was actually very excited about me. He gave my name to a couple of franchises in the Big Bash. Eventually I got the contract for Hobart Hurricanes in 2023 after I got that local thing going on. So you have to play for three years in Australia, stay for three years. So yeah, it was a journey," he added.
The stint in the BBL and playing domestic cricket for Australia nourished Chaudhary in such a way that he felt welcoming and valued in the set-up despite being an outsider. As a result, he did not have to ponder a lot upon whether he wanted to continue being down under to not only play cricket but also be an Aussie at heart.
"That's why I actually moved [to Australia] because I think I'm closer to Australian culture than Indian culture. People here are very straightforward. They are very real with you, which I love. And then obviously when someone's straightforward, it's actually easy to talk to them, live with them, and cherish all the memories. It wasn't difficult," Chaudhary explained.
Chaudhary was called to the Australian T20I squad and became the 117th player to represent the nation in the format, also becoming the first male cricketer after 60 years to play international cricket for the Aussies.
