When Mukul Choudhary walked out to bat at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, LSG were 104/5 and soon he saw them slip to 128/7. With the asking rate going up, he knew there was no point in hanging back.
So Mukul decided to swing hard and the result was a shift in momentum. The match went down to the fire and Mukul's penultimate ball six proved to be the final nail in KKR's coffin. LSG won of the final ball with three wickets in hand for a much-needed two points in IPL 2026.
Mukul Choudhary's Explosion at Eden Gardens
Mukul finished with a 27-ball 54 not out. He hit two fours and seven sixes. For LSG, the bidding war they won vs RR in the mini-auction bore fruit. Mukul had been roped in for Rs. 2.6 crore. The 21-year-old revealed that for him, the journey in cricket began even before his father got married as his dad dreamt his son would play cricket.
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The Journey of Mukul Choudhary
"My journey started when my father was not even married, his dream was his son has to play cricket. I started at the age group level but there were not good academies in Sikkim. I played matches in Delhi and Guragaon and that helped me. When I was playing against U19 versus UP, it was a low scoring game and I made a contribution, so he knew then that I would make it big. It was only my second match," he said after the game.
"God has given me this opportunity, there can be pressure but it is also an opportunity to make a name for myself. My aim was to bat till the last and see what happens. Even I liked the first six, I had not scored a single six in two games, so the first one was special. In my mind I knew one out of the four balls will be in the slot and I was just waiting for it. From younger days I like hitting sixes and not playing along the ground," he added at the post-match presentation ceremony.
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The Rise of Mukul Choudhary
Mukul plays domestic cricket for Rajasthan. In early 2023, he made his first-class debut vs Chhattisgarh. He has made 103 runs in four games with a top score of 45. In late 2023, he made his T20 debut vs Jharkhand. As an opener he made 35 on debut and has scored 226 runs in seven T20 games at an average of 37.66 and a highest score of 62 not out.
Will We See Mukul Choudhary Play for India One Day?
The youngster began as a medium pacer before taking up wicketkeeping. But it was his aggressive batting that gave him a name in the domestic circuit. The reason he cost LSG so much was due to his success in the 2025-26 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He made 173 runs in five innings with a strike rate of 198.55. He will turn 22 this year, so has a lot of time to improve his skills. Who knows? If things go well, he may be in the Indian T20I side soon. One can never tell!