Chaudhary set to return to Hurricanes after rape acquittal despite not informing club

A player found not guilty of rape will likely return to play for the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL despite not informing the franchise about the criminal proceedings.

In March, Nikhil Chaudhary was found not guilty by a jury of raping a 20-year-old woman in a car in Townsville in 2021. Cricket Tasmania says it was not informed of the charge or court action.

Chaudhary, who joined the franchise in late 2023, had his deal extended to 2027 in February, the month before the trial.

Cricket Tasmania's high performance general manager Salliann Beams told reporters the organisation was still going through "internal processes" in relation to Chaudhary. She said he would likely play 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 on that because we were completely in the dark."

Beams said it was disappointing Chaudhary didn't inform Cricket Tasmania about the charges or court proceedings.

"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 she was proud of how Cricket Tasmania handled the scenario and made sure every person was managed the best way possible through the process.

Chaudhary played nine games last BBL season, averaging 26 with the bat and taking five wickets in a Hurricanes side that missed the finals.