Nikhil Chaudhary said his maiden Australia call-up was the “greatest moment of my life” with the Delhi-born allrounder’s debut against Bangladesh marking the culmination of a fortuitous move from India.
Chaudhary made a promising entrance to international cricket in the series-opening T20I in Chattogram, hitting 18 off 13 after taking a maiden international wicket in the four-wicket win.
The 30-year-old had been playing in the EUT20 when Tony Dodemaide informed him of his selection for the three-match series, surely the first time an Australian cricketer has been in Belgium to receive such news.
“It was probably the best moment of my life to actually hear from the Australian selector that I’ve been called up for the series,” Chaudhary said on Thursday, his call-up coming after Travis Head took leave for the tour.
“Even then I wasn’t sure if I’m going to play. Then the day before yesterday, I got to know that I’m going to play. I was a bit anxious. Once I started playing in Australia, I always dreamt of playing for Australia.
“So that was probably the best moment of my life until now.”
Chaudhary leaned on the wisdom of fellow leg-spinner Adam Zampa, whose third wicket took his T20I tally to 150 on Wednesday. Zampa’s second wicket had come courtesy of an athletic running grab from Chaudhary, accompanied by one of his trademark Kabaddi-inspired ‘thigh-five’ celebrations.
“After that first catch, I was even more confident that I can actually do something on the international stage,” said Chaudhary, whose maiden international scalp was Rishad Hossain, a Hobart Hurricanes teammate.
He added: “When you get spin and a bit of a slow wicket, it’s actually easier for spinners to bowl on those wickets. With the breeze going one way, I was actually bowling from the hard end as well.
“I keep asking (Zampa) a lot of questions. Obviously initial stages (of your career) you have to ask a lot of questions of the seniors. He just got 150 T20 wickets, which is not an easy thing to do, especially nowadays because it’s more of a batters’ format now … I’m going to get as much as I can, the knowledge from him.”
Chaudhary once called the likes of Harbhajan Singh and Shubman Gill teammates while playing for Punjab in India, before getting stranded in Queensland in March 2020 on a trip to celebrate his 24th birthday when the pandemic shut international borders.
He joined Northern Suburbs’ Premier Cricket side where James Hopes, the now Sydney Sixers coach, spotted him. He made his debut for the Hobart Hurricanes in BBL13 in 2023, was a key figure in their title win the following season, and then had his best individual campaign last summer in a season.
“That’s why I actually moved, because I think I’m more close to Australian culture than Indian culture,” said Chaudhary, who worked as a postman and in a Mexican restaurant before turning professional as a cricketer.
“People are very straightforward, they’re very real, which I love. When someone’s straightforward, it’s actually easy to talk to them, live with them, and cherish all the memories.
“It wasn’t difficult with me, and I had good people around me when I moved to Australia, so it wasn’t tough for me.”
Chaudhary suggested his experience playing at a high level in India had prepared him for his debut on Wednesday, even suggesting he had been welcomed by Bangladesh fans.
“When I was playing for Punjab in domestic (cricket), we had big names in the team like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, so there was always a big crowd in every game, even a domestic game, people would turn up to watch them,” he said.
“(The Chattogram crowd) were actually nice, they were actually just saying my name and trying to just talk to me.”
Qantas Tour of Bangladesh 2026
Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Adam Zampa
June 9: First ODI: Bangladesh won by 86 runs (DLS Method)
June 11: Second ODI: Bangladesh won by five wickets (DLS Method)
June 14: Third ODI: Australia won by one wicket
Australia T20I squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Nikhil Chaudhary, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam Zampa
June 17: First T20I: Australia won by four wickets
June 19: Second T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST
June 21: Third T20I, Bir Sreshtho Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Stadium, Chattogram, 6pm AEST
All matches exclusive on Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket
