The Indian Premier League (IPL) has always been about the talent meeting opportunity. Over the years, several youngsters have squared off against the big international stars, catapulting themselves to overnight stardom. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Priyansh Arya set the stage on fire last season, and the duo continue to wreak havoc on the bowling lineups in the IPL 2026 season as well. However, the 19th edition of the T20 tournament has given us a new name to track – Lucknow Super Giants’ Mukul Choudhary, the big-hitting right-handed batter.
The 21-year-old from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, captured the imagination of one and all after playing an unbeaten 54-run knock off just 27 balls to help Rishabh Pant’s LSG stage an improbable win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday. At one stage, he was batting on 2 off 8 balls; however, he changed gears in the death overs, hitting his next 19 balls for 52 runs to seal a thrilling victory for LSG.
Just like several other names in Indian cricket, Mukul’s story is all about sacrifice and the hardships his parents endured. A big MS Dhoni, who wants to finish more and more games for his team, got to realise his dream after his father left the preparation for the Rajasthan Administrative Service just to ensure his son got the best training possible to realise the dream of becoming a cricketer.
“His dream was always, I mean, we were from a very poor family, so he wanted someone to emerge from the family, because nowadays in cricket, there is a lot of money and a lot of fame, so he liked this too. But the conditions weren’t such that he could play himself, so he had already decided even before he got married that when he has a son, he has to make him play cricket, he has to make him one, no matter what happens,” said Choudhary while talking about his journey in JioStar show, ‘Dream On’.
“But at that time, when I was small, the family situation wasn’t such that he could put me in an academy or somewhere at an early age. But then, slowly, he used to teach at the college and also prepare for the RAS himself. So he realised that either I could do my preparation or make him play. So he left that and did some property work, so some money came in, so then when I turned 12, he put me in the SBS Cricket Academy in Sikar for the first time,” he added.
‘Mother’s sacrifice’
Not just his father; even Mukul’s mother made her share of sacrifices, moving to Jaipur so the young cricketer would not face any hardships living in a new city.
“I believe that family support is very important. You can’t do this much alone for so long without someone’s support. So Papa always felt that because at that age, you can easily get distracted. He didn’t want that to happen. My mother taught at the same school, and my sister studied there. There’s a school there as well. I used to practice there. The school was in front, and the ground was here. They have a new setup now, but I am talking about earlier. I used to practice on the ground all day, sleep there during the day after going home and eating,” said Mukul.
“Then, when I came to Jaipur five years ago, I tried living alone in a hostel for five or six months, but it didn’t work out. You can either play or do those chores. So my mother and sister have always been there for me. They always stayed with me,” he added.
The Ranji Trophy debut
While the world is going over Choudhary’s IPL blitz, one needs to know that he has also done the grind in domestic cricket. He has played 4 first-class matches and 5 List-A games for Rajasthan. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in January 2023 against Chhattisgarh, where he scored just 2 runs in the first innings while not getting to bat in the second.
Recalling his Ranji debut, Choudhary said that the umpire gave a wrong decision and in the end, it resulted in his first stint in the red-ball competition getting off to a bad start.
“I was performing very well at that time. I performed very well in the Under-19s, so they put me in the Under-23s. I did well there, too. When I made my Ranji Trophy debut, I only got one innings. It was a close call, but it was not out. But it’s okay, those things happen,” said Choudhary.
“But then that season was over. So I didn’t feel too bad. I only got one inning; you can’t do much with that. Everyone wants to do their best on debut. But you can’t judge anyone from one innings, and no one said much either. So it wasn’t a big deal for me because I had performed very well that season overall,” he added.