It was 5pm and the kids at the Cricket Galaxy academy in Ludhiana, Punjab, about 100km from Chandigarh, were buzzing. The reason? Nikhil Chaudhary, an alumnus, was back for the first time since his T20I debut. That the debut came for Australia, and not India, only added to the excitement.
Broad shoulders, tattooed forearms, and Dolce & Gabbana goggles gave Chaudhary an imposing presence. But once he removed the goggles to greet his childhood coach, Charanjit Bhangu, a warm smile lit up his jet-lagged eyes. He then shook hands with the kids, signed their bats and settled in to speak to the media.
Chaudhary had landed in India that very morning, and his busy day was just an extension of his busy life since his debut in Bangladesh in June. Later that month, he was in America for MLC. July took him to England for the Hundred and August to the Caribbean for a short CPL stint with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He would spend "three-four days" in India before flying to Australia - only to return in October with a touring Australia A side.
Chaudhary, 30, is a middle-order batter who can also bowl handy legspin. Like every kid who picks up cricket, he grew up wanting to represent his country. Life, however, had other plans. In 2020, he got stuck in Australia because of Covid and started pursuing the sport there.
Asked how it feels playing for another country, Chaudhary's response is much more pragmatic now. "It doesn't really matter to me because I just wanted to play cricket," he told Cricinfo. "If you see, most players never get to represent their country. They finish their careers playing domestic cricket. Some move to another country to play club cricket. So, if you love cricket, you just want to play cricket; it doesn't matter for whom."
Chaudhary's next goal is to play ODI cricket for Australia, and he took a step towards that on Tuesday when he was named in the Australia A squad for three one-dayers in India next month. However, fellow spin-bowling allrounder Joel Davies, who made his T20I debut alongside Chaudhary, will get an opportunity first with the full side in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
"I want to play 50-over cricket and, if I get a chance, Tests too," he said. "My first target is the 2027 ODI World Cup, and then the T20 World Cup the following year. I want to represent Australia for as long as I can."
When he got stranded in Australia, he had played just two List A games and 12 T20s for Punjab. Three years later, he was turning out for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL. Another two years after that, he was making his first-class debut, for Tasmania. Considered more of a white-ball specialist back home, Chaudhary scored 76 not out off 80 balls and took a five-for in his very first outing in the Sheffield Shield, and finished the season with 393 runs at 32.75 with a best of 163 .
With the 2026-27 One-Day Cup starting later this month, Chaudhary is keen to build on those gains by following a simple approach.
"My plan has always been the same: work hard, give your best, and try to make your team win," he said. "Whatever opportunity you get, you try to perform."
Chaudhary was quick to admit that none of this would have been possible without Bhangu. "My coach has played a huge role in my career. Just like one has parents in life, he is like a parent to me in cricket," he said. "I was around 13 when I first met him. He taught me not only cricket but also how to live life as a professional cricketer. That helped me a lot."
Bhangu, in turn, treats Chaudhary like a son. "As a coach, your biggest dream is that your student plays at international level," he said. "Nikhil followed my advice right from the start and has now made me proud.
"Now my dream is that my other student, Nehal Wadhera, also plays for India, and one day, he and Nikhil face off against each other and I go to the stadium wearing a jersey that is half-Indian, half-Australian."
