Image Credit- Getty
Nikhil Chaudhary made the decision to put his nagging
worries to bed. After hitting 71 off 28 balls to propel Northern Suburbs into
Queensland’s T20 Max final, he seemed to be in high spirits when he went home.
With the season quickly approaching, Chaudhary was
still worried that he had not yet secured a BBL contract, despite his heroics
in early September. The 27-year-old’s once bright future as an Under-19
representative for India seemed to be on hold despite his prior call-up to the
Brisbane Heat as a Covid-19 replacement player.
Chaudhary was startled out of his daze the following
morning when his agent, Kendel Fleming, called.
After the phone call that turned his career around,
Chaudhary sat there in shock, thinking back to when he first started playing
cricket and wanted to bowl like former Australia quick Brett Lee. It was
confirmed that he was joining the Hobart Hurricanes.
Chaudhary was immediately drawn to T20 cricket because
of his strong frame and cool, innovative attitude at the crease. Additionally,
he was learning under former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh at Punjab, where he
was almost a sponge.
In late 2019, Chaudhary twice trialled with Mumbai
Indians but didn’t make the final cut for the IPL. Shortly afterwards, he went
on a holiday to Australia but remained focused on furthering his cricket career
in India.
Harvey received a referral for his BBL opportunity
from James Hopes, the coach of the Northern Suburbs and current member of the
Hurricanes coaching team.
But Chaudhary had a difficult time breaking into the
potent Hurricanes batting lineup, which was largely devoid of players with
international obligations. But the Hurricanes brass was quite fascinated by his
explosiveness and versatility with the bat and the ball.
Chaudhary was supposed to be the 12th man when the
Hurricanes headed to Perth for their season’s second game just before
Christmas. Chaudhary got a call from Vaughan on match day as he was getting
ready for breakfast.
Though Chaudhary was unable to complete his breakfast,
Wade’s performance in a batting session in the nets held the key to his chances
of making his BBL debut. The Hurricanes batted first on a fast-paced,
bounce-filled Optus Stadium pitch, and Chaudhary learned he was playing and
listed at No. 6 an hour before the game began.
The star-studded onslaught of the Scorchers, the
two-time defending champions, caused the Hurricanes’ top order to unravel.
Hurricanes were reduced to 28 for 4 in the fifth over as speedster Lance
Morris, in his first delivery of the BBL season, removed opener Caleb Jewell.
The temperature was 37 degrees Celsius when Chaudhary
arrived, so he was up against a fired-up Morris—possibly the fastest bowler in
the nation—who was eager to play after being cut from Australia’s Test team.
Soon after, Chaudhary began his BBL career by smashing
consecutive boundaries through the off side off Morris. He timed his punches
well to knock seamer Andrew Tye to the ground, then came down the track and
gave Morris a shit through further cover.
At Blundstone Arena, Chaudhary’s next opportunity at
the crease saw him smash 32 off 16 balls against Melbourne Stars, highlighted
by an incredible six over backward point off Pakistani fast Haris Rauf that
went viral on social media.
As he thrives in the spotlight he long craved,
Chaudhary has suddenly become an X-factor for Hurricanes in their quest for a
drought-breaking BBL title.
“I’ve been looking forward to this opportunity
for the last three years. I’m grateful.”