Australian player set to create history vs Bangladesh [Source: AFP]The Australian team is currently in Bangladesh playing the ODI series against the hosts. Once the ODIs are over, the two sides will lock horns in a riveting T20I fixture, and the Australian team has revealed their team for the same.Mitch Marsh will lead the side, and BBL performers have been rewarded as the Australian team has picked a strong squad for the tricky away tour of Bangladesh. The Australian selectors have also picked the Hobart Hurricanes sensation, Nikhil Chaudhary, who has been on the radar for quite some time now.The Aussie all-rounder is yet to play a single game for the nation, but if he gets picked in the playing XI during the Bangladesh series, the Indian-born Australian player could create history.Nikhil Chaudhary set to break 62-year-old Australian recordWith injuries to key Australian players, and Travis Head out of the side due to personal reasons, the Australian team needed reinforcement, and hence, Chaudhary was picked in the team for the Bangladesh tour.There is a good chance that he might play in the T2OIs against the Tigers, and if it happens, Chaudhary would become the first Indian-born player to play for Australia in more than 60 years.Chaudhary, who has been playing for JB Bruges in the EUT20 tournament, will link with the T20I squad on Friday as he aims to create history and make a name for himself. There have been several Indian-origin players who have played for Australia, but not since 1964 that an India-born player has represented them.Also Read: Australia ODI Squad vs Bangladesh: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh Out; Replacements NamedRex Sellars, a Gujarat-born leg-spinner, was the last India-born player (born in Gujarat) who played for Australia in the 1964 Calcutta Test match.Who is Nikhil Chaudhary? The Delhi-born player set to play for AustraliaBorn in Delhi, Chaudhary is not an Australian citizen, but is a permanent citizen who fulfills all the criteria to play for the Australian national team.Interestingly, before moving to Australia, the all-rounder had played state-level cricket alongside Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, and Abhishek Sharma, and had also given trials for the IPL side, Mumbai Indians.He visited Australia during the COVID pandemic, and since then, has played cricket in Australia, and has also represented the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL, helping the team to the BBL 14 championship with 307 runs, at a strike rate of 153.He recently earned a state contract with Tasmania, and after leaving a mark in the T20s, Chaudhary will hope to cement his place in the first-class team as well.Nikhil Chaudhary's T20 stats and what makes him a special playerSo far in his career, the India-born player has featured in 48 T20s, and has slammed 845 runs, with a strike rate of 137.84. Apart from his excellent ability to take down the bowlers with ease, the all-rounder has also scalped 16 wickets, with an economy of 7.25.Interestingly, despite being born in India, where players are better against spin, Chaudhary has acclimatised to the Australian conditions easily, and has been effective against pace on the bouncy wickets.He can be useful against Bangladesh as the spin-friendly conditions there would help Chaudhary spin his web around the Bangladesh batters.Australia T20I squad vs BangladeshMitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Nikhil Chaudhary, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Joel Davies, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Matthew Kuhnemann, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Adam ZampaAlso Read: Why India A Players Are Playing Without Names On Their Jerseys vs AFG A?
