Hobart Hurricanes' cricketer Nikhil Chaudhary finds himself embroiled in a serious legal predicament in Australia, facing accusations of sexual assault against a woman during a night out in 2021.
The 27-year-old former India U-19 player is currently standing trial, having pleaded not guilty to one count of rape.
The night of the crime
According to prosecution attorneys, the alleged incident occurred around 3 am outside a Townsville nightclub, where Chaudhary purportedly assaulted the woman in his car, resulting in her sustaining injuries and bleeding.
Reportedly, Chaudhary and the woman met on the dance floor of The Bank club, spending some time together before leaving. Subsequently, a friend of the victim testified in court that she intervened after hearing banging on the car window, upon which the victim exited the vehicle.
Friends of the victim testify in court
The friend recounted, "[The alleged victim] was in tears, claiming she had been raped." Following the incident, the victim promptly contacted her mother to disclose the ordeal, indicating that she had met someone at the club and then entered a car where unwanted advances were made.
During the trial, the defence raised questions regarding whether digital penetration occurred and whether the woman had consented to any sexual activity.
Forensic nurse Nicole Aitken, who examined the complainant shortly after the alleged assault, reported finding a 1-centimeter abrasion. The victim indicated to Aitken that while kissing was consensual, digital penetration was not.
Who is Nikhil Chaudhary?
For the uninitiated, Chaudhary is an leg-spinner and right-handed batter who is only the second Indian male cricketer to play in the BBL after India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand.
Chaudhary was born on May 4 in 1996, moved from Delhi to Punjab at an early age where he was part of the state team under the captaincy of former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Chaudhary however, wanted to become a fast bowler like Brett Lee before he turned to off-spin in his formative years.
Trained by Yuvraj Singh
Even though he played under Bhajji's captaincy, Chaudhary owes a lot of his skills to former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh. "I learned a lot of things from him, like how to build an innings, tackle big targets and how to go deep into the innings," Chaudhary said.
"I knew my capability of scoring runs at any stage of the game. I really wanted to crack the IPL and also play for India."
Chaudhary has played just two first-class matches so far in which he's picked 1 wicket. He's also played 16 T20s in which he's bagged 40 wickets at 26.88 and scored 178 runs at an average over 22.
