For Frankie Nicklin, a return to India in September will have a little more meaning than simply pulling on the Australia A shirt.
The 21-year-old NSW all-rounder has been selected in Australia’s 15-player A squad for a tour featuring three T20s, three 50-over matches and a four-day fixture — a significant opportunity for a player whose career has been gathering momentum over the past few seasons.
But Nicklin has actually already appeared on an Indian cricket field.
Well, sort of.
Long before she was selected to represent Australia A in India, Nicklin made a fleeting appearance on the big screen as an Australian cricketer in Kanaa, the acclaimed 2018 Tamil-language cricket film.
The movie, directed by Arunraja Kamaraj and starring Aishwarya Rajesh, tells the story of a young woman determined to succeed in cricket. It was a film centred on women’s cricket at a time when stories about women in the game were still relatively uncommon.
Nicklin’s role was only a brief cameo, but it makes her upcoming trip to India an intriguing full-circle moment.
This time, there will be no film crew, no script and no pretending to be an Australian cricketer.
She will actually be one.
Nicklin’s rise has been an impressive one. After making her NSW Breakers debut during the 2023–24 season, she became an important part of NSW’s successful 2024–25 WNCL campaign and was rewarded with her first full state contract for the 2025–26 season.
Her development was highlighted earlier this year when she produced two four-wicket hauls in the Green v Gold red-ball exhibition match, helping Gold to a commanding victory and further strengthening her claims as an emerging player to watch. Cricket Australia subsequently included her among the 15 players selected for the India tour.
The squad contains a fascinating blend of established international experience and emerging talent, with Nicklin joined by the likes of Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Sianna Ginger, Charli Knott, Anika Learoyd, Katie Mack, Lilly Mills, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Rachel Trenaman, Courtney Webb, Tahlia Wilson and Tayla Vlaeminck.
The tour will begin with three T20 matches in New Chandigarh before moving to Mohali for three 50-over games. The squad will then finish with a four-day match in Dharamshala.
For Nicklin, the opportunity is about far more than a quirky piece of trivia.
Playing cricket in India presents the chance to experience conditions that are very different from those in Australia, while testing herself against strong opposition. National selector Shawn Flegler described exposure to Indian conditions early in a player’s career as an invaluable part of the development process.
And yet, somewhere in the background will be the memory of that movie.
There is something wonderfully fitting about a young Australian cricketer who once played a tiny fictional role in an Indian women’s cricket story now returning to India as part of Australia’s pathway to the international game.
The cameo may have lasted only moments.
The next chapter could last considerably longer.
