Sydney, June 12:
Spin bowling all-rounder Nikhil Chaudhary, who holds Permanent Residency here, 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. 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.