Debutant Nikhil Chaudhary has become the third-ever Indian-born cricketer to appear for Australia, and the first in men’s cricket in six decades.Australia's Nikhil Chaudhary bowls a delivery during the first T20 international cricket match between Australia and Bangladesh (AP Photo/Mosaraf Hossain)The 30-year-old Chaudhary, born in Delhi in 1996, was named in Australia’s playing XI for their first T20I against Bangladesh at the Bir Shrestha Shahid Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram. He was added to Australia's squad only last week for the T20I leg of their tour, replacing Travis Head.Interestingly, Chaudhary does not yet have Australian citizenship. He claims permanent residency status in Australia on a work visa valid till 2027. But, having lived in Australia for five years, he is eligible under ICC rules to represent his adopted country in international cricket.ALSO READ: Gill's first century as captain, Kishan's first since 2022: Best buddies hammer Afghanistan in Lucknow masterclassIt was the COVID-19 pandemic that upended his life. He was visiting an uncle in Queensland when border closures left him stranded in Australia. After playing district-level cricket in Australia while working odd jobs on minimum-wage while, he was scouted by Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. Three standout seasons, including a BBL trophy-winning year with the Hurricanes, earned him a national call-up last week.Today, he marked his debut with a great catch to dismiss Bangladesh batter Soumya Sarkar.Chaudhary had earlier played 14 limited-over games for Punjab between 2017 and 2020, sharing the field with the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma. He also trialled with IPL side Mumbai Indians.The only other Indian-born Australian representatives in international cricket are Lisa Sthalekar and Rex Sellars. Pune-born Sthalekar represented Australia 187 times across all formats, including four World Cup-winning campaigns (2005 and 2013 in ODIs, and 2010 and 2012 in T20Is), and captained the team in 3 ODIs. Leg-spinner Selles, born in Gujarat, made his sole appearance against India in a Test match in Calcutta in 1964.