Talented Nikhil set to scale new heights

Young, enterprising, a renowned name in cricket fraternity of Canada Nikhil Dutta is indeed the pride of the community. Nikhil is the only cricketer from Canada to have played in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). While playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots he had excellent debut where he got 2 for 32 against St Lucia Zouks. One of his victims was Kevin Pietersen. “It feels great to be the first one from Canada to be part of the CPL. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I enjoyed every second of it. I felt privileged to play with all the international players and it helped me grow so much more as a cricketer,” said Nikhil in an exclusive interview with The Asian Connections Newspaper. Gaining such heights didn’t come easy for Nikhil, “I practice regularly, at least four days a week because at this level I feel that it is important to be consistent and constantly look to improve my game with the help of my coaches, Derek Perera and Ingleton Liburd.”

Nikhil is just 20 years, his family immigrated to Canada when Nikhil was 6 years old, and he started playing cricket at the age of 9. Born in Kuwait, his family traces its roots to the City of Joy- Kolkata. His father Mihir Dutta also brought the passion of cricket from India and let Nikhil bloom. “I feel very passionate about the game, and look for every opportunity to play matches as practice makes perfect,” added Nikhil. At one point he moved to America and represented the America Under-15 team. Later he returned to Canada where he continued playing age-group cricket. After his impressive performance at the Under-19 level, Nikhil was called upon to play for the senior side in 2013, at the age of 18. He made his debut in international cricket in a One-Day International (ODI) against Kenya at Dubai.

This talented spinner, whose bowling action is quite similar to that of Sunil Narine, will be an important member of the Canada side in days to come.