Mukul Choudhary (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
Ahead of the 2003 World Cup, Sourav Ganguly persuaded Rahul Dravid to don the wicketkeeping gloves just to fit an extra batter in the playing XI. It was a necessity, a workaround in a team searching for balance.
More than two decades later, that idea now feels almost archaic. Thanks in no equal measure to a certain MS Dhoni, who has redefined this role with flair and rizz.Today, you could fill an entire Indian team with a galaxy of fearless, hard-hitting wicketkeeper batters, who hail from small towns, mirroring Dhoni’s own journey.The list includes Ishan Kishan (Patna), Rishabh Pant (Roorkee), Sanju Samson (Vizhinjam), Jitesh Sharma (Amravati), Abhishek Porel (Hooghly), Prabhsimran Singh (Patiala) and Salil Arora (Amritsar).
The list is growing with every IPL season.On Thursday, another cricketer joined this list: 21-year-old Mukul Choudhary from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
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How Justin Langer’s belief helped Mukul Choudhary shine
Walking in at No.7 for the Lucknow Super Giants, he quickly turned an improbable chase of 182 into theatre. Mukul walloped seven sixes in a heist that shifted from the improbable to inevitable. His 27-ball 54 against Kolkata Knight Riders was a statement of intent. Those who have been watching him closely, were not surprised.
“He is the kind of batter who can move through a lineup with ease. So composed, well beyond his age,” former Rajasthan and India pacer Pankaj Singh told TOI. His journey was stitched with chance. From Jhunjhunu to Jaipur, chasing a cricketing life, he trained at an academy that has produced its share of IPL talents like Kartik Sharma. He made a quiet entry into the Rajasthan Premier League last season. But it was Kartik’s injury that gave Mukul the opportunity to showcase his talent at this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
“He scored a 26-ball 62 during that tense chase (against Delhi) in one of the league games of SMAT. He played a similar knock yesterday, “ Singh recalled. At the LSG camp, amid swirling questions around the composition of the middle order, Mukul arrived with quiet conviction. Coach Justin Langer had already flagged him as a potentially “scary” No. 6 or 7. Thursday night felt like confirmation.Like so many before him, Mukul grew up idolising Dhoni. And this innings carried echoes of the former India captain — controlled chaos, late acceleration with an ice-cool approach.For LSG, they have found a 21-year-old who has pulled off a heist beyond his years. He is a product of India’s changing cricketing landscape.
