Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 has started. The matches of the second round of the tournament have started. Delhi Capitals (DC) will host Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi in their second match of the 19th edition of the league. Both the teams are practicing before the match to be held on Saturday afternoon.
During Friday’s net session, something interesting happened, when Nikhil Chaudhary was seen training with the Capitals. The Delhi-born cricketer plays for Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes. He joined the auction as an overseas player but remained unsold. India-born Australian NRI cricketer Nikhil Chaudhary has performed well in the last Big Bash League (BBL) 2025/26 season.
Nikhil Chaudhary ready to play in IPL
England are likely to bring in Nikhil Chaudhary in place of Ben Duckett, who recently withdrew from the IPL to save his international career. However, there has been no official confirmation on the former joining the DC team for IPL 2026. It will be interesting to see whether the Australian all-rounder joins the Capitals team or not.
Nikhil Chaudhary was born in Delhi and later moved to Punjab, where he rose up the ranks in 2017 after representing India at the Under-19 level. However, the all-rounder failed to make it to the IPL despite two attempts with Mumbai Indians. He then flew to Australia with his family in 2020, but got stuck due to the COVID-19 lockdown in 2019.
Nikhil Chaudhary’s luck changed in Australia!
The all-rounder’s career took a turn after he bagged a contract from Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Hobart Hurricanes. The 29-year-old cricketer was only the second Indian-origin player to play in the BBL after Unmukt Chand. Nikhil has played 36 matches and scored 538 runs at a strike rate of 130, and also took 16 wickets.
However, in the IPL 2025 mini-auction, he remained unsold, and now things may change for the India-born Australian cricketer. He could join IPL 2026 as Duckett’s replacement. After going unsold in the auction, it will be an interesting call from the Capitals management to sign Nikhil for the rest of the IPL season.
Many more to follow……
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