Nikhil Dutta

Nikhil Dutta (born 13 October 1994) is a Canadian cricketer. He has represented the Canada national cricket team since 2013 as a right-arm off spin bowler. He has also played for franchises in the Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and Global T20 Canada.

Personal life Dutta was born on 13 October 1994 in Kuwait City. His father Mihir Dutta, a software engineer, co-founded Mississauga-based Ontario Cricket Academy in 2002 along with Derek Perera.

Dutta attended Father Michael Goetz Secondary School in Mississauga.

International career In 2011, aged 16, Dutta was named in Canada's squad for the 2011 ICC Americas Under-19 Championship in Fort Lauderdale. He was originally included in Canada's squad for the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament in July 2015, but he chose to stay with the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League. He was replaced by Hiral Patel. In January 2018, he played in the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament, ending up as Canada's leading bowler, with 11 wickets.

He was in Canada's squad for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Americas Qualifier tournament. In October 2018, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2018–19 Regional Super50 tournament in the West Indies. In April 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Namibia.

In August 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut against the Cayman Islands on 18 August 2019. In September 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 Malaysia Cricket World Cup Challenge League A tournament. In October 2019, he was named in Canada's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

Nikhil was selected for the T20 World Cup team 2024 for Canada. He played one game and got an important wicket against USA team.

Franchise career Dutta played for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the 2015 Caribbean Premier League; he played in three matches with his most notable wicket being former England international Kevin Pietersen. Later that year, Dutta was signed by the Barisal Bulls, one of the six teams playing in the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League. He played one game, taking 3/18.

On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada tournament. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Montreal Tigers franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. He was added to the New Jersey Stallions for the 2021 Minor League Cricket season.

In June 2024, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals franchise team in the 2024 Global T20 Canada tournament.