Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: “Mila nahin kuch bhi pal bhar mein, ek daur isi mein bita hai, baadal bahut samete hain humne, tab dariya banna seekha hai (Nothing is achieved in a moment; an entire phase of life passed in this struggle. We have gathered countless clouds and only then learned how to become a river).”The poem is from poet Sandeep Dwivedi’s book “Rone Se Kuch Hota Hai Kya,” and the line is also the WhatsApp status of Dalip Choudhary, father of Mukul Choudhary.
“Kaafi sateek line hai. Hum dono baap bete ki kahaani hai (This line perfectly captures the journey of my son and me),” Dalip Choudhary told TimesofIndia.com.From a young age, Mukul faced hardships. Be it his father selling their house, their struggle to find a good cricket academy, regular visits from bank officials, or his father going to jail, the journey was anything but easy.After Lucknow Super Giants’ second match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 21-year-old struggled to find his rhythm with the bat in a tense chase. Captain Rishabh Pant eventually took LSG home and, after hitting the winning shot, tried to lift Mukul’s confidence.
Lucknow Super Giants’ Mukul Choudhary celebrates after winning the match. (ANI Photo)
However, the youngster could not hold back his emotions after returning to the team hotel. Dalip, who was watching the match from his home in Jhunjhunu, noticed his son’s red eyes during a video call.“Maine pucha usse, beta ro liya (I asked him, son, did you cry?). He nodded and smiled,” says Choudhary.“He was frustrated that he could not finish the game. He kept saying that the LSG management had bought him for so much money, so what was the point if he could not win matches for them? He was distraught. He promised me that in the next match, he would make everyone proud, and he delivered on that promise,” he adds.
He promised me that in the next match, he would make everyone proud, and he delivered on that promise.
Mukesh Choudhary’s father
Choudhary hails from a small village, Khedaro Ki Dhani, in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district. When LSG signed him for Rs 2.60 crore in the auction, more than 13 times his base price, the first thing he promised his father was that he would repay the loans taken to support his cricket dream. His father had even sold their house to keep that dream alive.“I graduated in 2003, the same year I got married, and I had a dream that if I ever had a son, he would play cricket. The next year, I was blessed with a son, and from a very young age I decided that I would do everything to make him a cricketer. Jab itne saare log bante hai toh mera beta kyu nahi (When so many people make it, why can’t my son?),” he recalls.
Mukesh Choudhary with his father at their home. (Special Arrangement)
For six years, Dalip Choudhary prepared for the Rajasthan Administrative Service, but could not clear the exam. He then entered the real estate business, which also failed. In 2016, in search of a good cricket academy, the father and son reached SBS Crickhub in Sikar, around 70 km from their home.“Once I enrolled him, I realised I did not have enough money. I decided to sell my house because I did not have a regular income. I got Rs 21 lakh. I asked the buyer to transfer the entire amount to my account so that everything was on record. The next year, I started a hotel and took another loan. Yes, I failed to pay instalments on time. I even went to jail, but I never committed fraud,” he says.
My relatives left me. They called me a madman. Khud ki zindagi barbaad kar di, ab apne bete ko baksh de (You have ruined your own life, now spare your son)
Mukesh Choudhary’s father
“My relatives left me. They called me a madman. Khud ki zindagi barbaad kar di, ab apne bete ko baksh de (You have ruined your own life, now spare your son). These are some of the things that were said to my face. It only made my family stronger. Those harsh words made me even more determined that I was on the right path,” he adds.Dalip himself was a cricketer but only played local tournaments in his village.“For me, it was Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar. They were my idols growing up. I used to watch videos of Sachin with my son, but after the 2011 ODI World Cup, when MS Dhoni hit the winning six, he became a Dhoni fan and asked me for a pair of gloves,” Dalip recalls.
മുകുൾ ചൗധരി
In the 2025-26 Under-23 List A Trophy, Mukul Choudhary emerged as the leading run-scorer. He scored 617 runs, including two centuries and four fifties, at a strike rate of 142.49. He smashed 39 sixes, the most in the tournament.His performances caught the attention of Rajasthan Ranji coach Anshu Jain, who picked him as a replacement for the injured Kartik Sharma in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He played five matches, scoring 173 runs at a strike rate of 198.85.“In the match against Delhi, we needed 26 runs to win, and the boy hit four sixes to seal the game,” recalls Anshu Jain.
The helicopter shot cover drive he hit for a six is just one of the many strokes in his armoury. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Mumbai, he hit a pull shot over mid-on for six
Anshu Jain | Rajasthan cricket team head coach
“He is tall, has long levers, and is very athletic. The helicopter shot cover drive he hit for a six is just one of the many strokes in his armoury. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Mumbai, he hit a pull shot over mid-on for six. That shot amazed me, and even the Mumbai players applauded,” says Jain.The 21-year-old dedicated his knock to his father and his idol MS Dhoni.“I would dedicate this performance to my father, who had decided even before marriage that his son would play cricket,” Choudhary told reporters after his heroics in Kolkata.
Justin Langer and Mukul Choudhary after the match. (Pic credit: IPL)
“I always liked the way Dhoni finished games. He could hit a six even off a yorker. When you can hit that kind of delivery for six, the bowler is forced to think differently,” he added.On a night when Eden Gardens roared for a new hero, it was not just a 27-ball blitz that stood out. It was the weight of years, sacrifices, debt, and belief finally finding release. Mukul Choudhary did not just finish a match. He honoured a promise, repaid a father’s faith, and turned a story of struggle into one of arrival.
