EXCLUSIVE | ‘Ab sab chuk jayega’: An IPL dream that will free Mukul Choudhary’s family from debt

Mukul Choudhary (BCCI/IPL photo) NEW DELHI: As Mukul Choudhary packed his bags and headed home after IPL 2026, he carried with him a deep sense of satisfaction. There was the joy of a memorable debut season, highlighted by his six-hit blitz against Kolkata Knight Riders that helped Lucknow Super Giants pull off a stunning heist.It was the experience of sharing a dressing room with the stars he only watched on TV growing up. And there were invaluable lessons that helped him better understand his game. But one thing stood out above all.The biggest satisfaction for Mukulu was knowing that he would finally be able to ease his family’s financial burden by paying off the bank loan they took out years ago to build a house.After impressing in domestic cricket, Mukul was picked up by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 2.60 crore in the IPL auction. Now, with his first IPL season behind him and a paycheck secured, the youngster is set to return home and help clear the debt his family has been carrying for years.“My father was a teacher before all this. Then we sold the house. My grandfather, who retired from the army, helped us with some money. We also borrowed from my uncle. With that, we bought a piece of land and later took a bank loan to build a hotel on it. We lived in a rented flat for a long time. Since I started playing cricket, our family has been moving from one rented exclusive interview to another,” he said. Mukuldia.“Ab sab chuk jayega (Now all those debts will be cleared). I am happy that I could do this for my family. All thanks to IPL and LSG.” First IPL six, a memory foreverMukul still gets goosebumps when he remembers that IPL night at Eden Gardens.Facing KKR, the youngster played one of the knocks of the season as he smashed 57 off just 27 balls with seven towering sixes to stage a stunning chase against Lucknow Super Giants. After sealing the win, Mukul stood in the middle of the ground with his hands clasped, his head tilted to the sky and drenched in the moment.“A lot has changed in T20 cricket. For one, the Impact Player rule has come in. Earlier, batsmen were expected to build long innings and stay at the crease. Now teams have two all-rounders and the batting goes up to No.9. The mindset has changed – once you come in, you are expected to attack,” he said.“Earlier, one coach in an academy would work with 20 or 30 kids. Today, the entire support system is built around a talented player from a very young age. Look at Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, his father traveled everywhere with him when he was growing up. Having a mentor and dedicated coaches has become extremely important.Players now have customized training programs, reserve pitches for individual training and receive much more targeted attention. All of this changed the game significantly,” he explained. For Mukul, the IPL has always been much more than just another tournament.“IPL is a huge platform for someone like me. I feel lucky to have got this opportunity. Every cricketer’s first dream is to play for India and IPL opens that path. I never imagined that so many things would happen so quickly. My family was also excited. Everything that followed was completely unexpected.”Hard work is behind successLong before the IPL spotlight, Mukul spent countless hours chasing his dream. He traveled tirelessly between Gurgaon and Bharatpur (his residence) to play matches and improve his game, often spending whole nights on buses before turning to bat the next day.“I also practiced a lot in Gurugram. There were days when I caught a night bus, reached Bharatpur in the morning, played a match there, traveled overnight and played another match in Gurugram the very next day. For two to three months, all my concentration was on cricket,” said Mukul.“My brother stayed with me all this time. He took care of my diet and daily routine while continuing my own studies. He helped me immensely. I wouldn’t call it a struggle, but it definitely took a lot of hard work. The goal was always to take my game to the next level,” he added.The sacrifices paid off. After impressing in age-group cricket, Mukul scored 173 runs in five innings during the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at a strike rate of 198.85, earning him an IPL contract with LSG.“Even before my dad got married, it was his dream that his son would play cricket. The financial situation was not very good at first. But my father and mother did everything to support me. My brother was always with me, took care of me and helped me achieve my dreams.”Learning from Pant, Marsh and PooranThe IPL was not all about performances. It was also a crash course in handling pressure and understanding match situations. “I learned a lot from the time I was there. The one thing everyone told me was to stay positive, whether it was handling pressure situations or adapting the bat to the demands of the match.“Mitchell Marsh used to say to me, ‘Bat as deep into the innings as you can. If you’re still there, you can win matches for your team. There’s no point throwing your wicket away hastily.’ I also learned a lot from Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran. And yes, I also spent a lot of time working on my sixth stroke,” he said.However, captain Rishabh Pant was the biggest influence.The biggest support for me was the trust that Pant Bhaiya showed in me. He always said, ‘Brother, we believe in you, so you have to believe in yourself. You are here because you are good enough to be here. You didn’t reach this level by accident, you did something special to earn this opportunity. So lean back and believe in your abilities.” His belief in me gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.Bigger plans aheadMukul finished IPL 2026 with 170 runs from 10 matches at a strike rate of 141.66, including 12 sixes. Despite LSG enduring a disappointing campaign and becoming the first team eliminated from the tournament, Mukul remains confident about the future.“All I want to say is that we couldn’t perform as well as they hoped this season. But we’ll make sure we don’t come up short next time. We’ll come back stronger and do much better.”“I have learned a tremendous amount from this IPL. The tournament has taught me a lot and I have already started thinking about what I want to improve before the next season. I will start preparing again in a few days,” he signed off.