Nikhil Chaudhary (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images) The Indian Premier League (IPL) Board of Governors has finalized the list of players who will be bidding for the upcoming auction in Abu Dhabi on December 16. A total of 350 cricketers have made the final shortlist and will go under the hammer as all ten franchises look for reinforcements ahead of the new season. While names like Cameron Green, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan, Jamie Smith and Quinton de Kock lead most of the pre-auction talk, another player unexpectedly caught the attention of the fans. That cricketer is Nikhil Chaudhary, an all-rounder currently based in Australia whose presence in the ‘uncapped Indian allrounders 5’ (UAL5) category has left many supporters scratching their heads. Listed with a base price of INR 40 lakhs, Chaudhary was registered under the Punjab Cricket Association.
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However, according to a recent report by Wisden.com, this is actually a mistake on BCCI’s part. The report adds that Chaudhary will be listed as an overseas player in the auction, which means if he is picked by the franchise and included in the XI, he will count as one of the four overseas players allowed. Chaudhary’s cricketing journey began in India. He made his List A and T20 debuts for Punjab in 2017, long before he moved to Australia. Now 29, he has built a distinguished career in Australia’s domestic set-up, including the Big Bash League. He appeared in 20 BBL matches for the Hobart Hurricanes, scoring 386 runs and taking nine wickets. He represented Tasmania in first-class cricket in the longer format. He is also only the second player of Indian origin to feature in the BBL, after Unmukt Chand, who shifted his base to Australia in 2020. In this auction, teams will compete for 77 open slots, 31 of which are reserved for overseas signings. The highest base price remains at INR 2 million, with 40 players opting to enter the auction at this level. The event will start next Tuesday at 14:30 IST. Initially, 1,390 cricketers threw their names in the ring, but only 350 made it to the final, including 240 Indians and 110 overseas players. There are 224 uncapped Indians and 14 uncapped overseas players in the pool. Franchise retention lists were released earlier in the year.
