Chaudhary likely to return to play for Hobart after found 'not guilty' of rape charges

A player found not guilty of rape will probably return to play for Hobart in the Australian T20 League despite not notifying the team about the criminal proceedings. 

Nikhil Chaudhary was found ‘not guilty’ in March by a jury of assaulting a 20 year old woman in Townsville in 2021. As per Cricket Tasmania they were not told about the charge or court proceedings. 

Chaudhary, who made his Aus T20 League debut with Hurricanes in late 2023, had his deal extended till 2027, February. 

The general manager of Cricket Tasmania’s high performance SalliannBeams told reporters that the organisation was still going through the “internal process” related to Chaudhary. She stated he would likely be seen playing in the upcoming season. 

“[There are] some legalities through that process," Beams said on Tuesday. "It's not so much the incident because we know that nothing happened ... legally not guilty and everything.

"It's just the disclosure of information. We want to know where we sit because we were completely in the dark." Beams said it was disheartening Chaudhary didn’t tell Cricket Tasmania about the charges or court action. 

“You have to deal with the organisation's point of view and the impact that it could potentially have on that," she said. "Because you don't really want to associate yourself with ... that type of investigation.

"But at the same time, you can understand from the players' point of view is that, you know, they've done nothing wrong and it's a scary place. "[You're] legally advised not to say anything, so you're always balancing different sides of the story."

Beams said how proud she was with the way Cricket Australia dealt with the entire scenario and ensured every person was managed the best they could through the process. 

Chaudhary played nine games last Aus T20 League season, averaging 26 with bat in hand and picking up five wickets in a Hurricanes side that failed to reach the finals.