Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) youngster Mukul Choudhary enthralled fans with an unbeaten 54 runs off 27 balls as he helped his team defeat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by three wickets in their IPL 2026 match in Kolkata on Thursday. Mukul slammed two fours and seven sixes during his knock.
Who is Mukul Choudhary?
Mukul Choudhary was born on 6 August, 2004 in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu. He represents Rajasthan in domestic cricket, and was signed up by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹2.60 crore at the IPL 2026 mini-auction.
He initially began his career as a medium pacer, before transitioning into a wicketkeeper and now an aggressive batter.
He made his first-class debut on 17 January, 2023 in a Ranji Trophy match against Chattisgarh. His big breakthrough, though came in the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, wherein he slammed 173 runs from five innings at a strike-rate of 198.85.
He was signed as a replacement player for the injured Kartik Sharma, and welcomed the opportunity with both hands. The 21-year-old slammed an unbeaten 62 against Delhi and also slammed 54 runs off 28 balls against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.
He also starred in the 2025 2025 Men’s U-23 State A Trophy and ended up as the highest run-scorer in that tournament. The youngster finished the tournament with 617 runs from nine matches, slamming four fifties and two centuries.
On Thursday, LSG were set a target of 182 by KKR. The Rishabh Pant-led side were in a spot of bother at 95/4 in the 12th over of the chase, but Ayush Badoni (54 runs off 34 balls) initially set the platform for victory.
Once Badoni was dismissed, LSG were further down to 125/6 in the 15th over. However, Mukul’s fearless batting display proved to be pivotal as he and Avesh Khan forged an unbeaten 54-run stand from just 24 deliveries to take LSG over the finish line.
Mukul did almost all of the scoring during his half-century-run stand with Avesh Khan, who only had to hang in there at the other end.
Mukul Choudhary on his cricketing journey so far
“My journey actually started even before I was born. My father had a dream that one day his son would play cricket. But back then, our financial condition wasn’t strong, so I couldn’t start early. I began playing at around 12-13 years of age. There weren’t many academies at that time.
“One academy, SBC Cricket Academy, had just opened, and I trained there for about 5–6 years. After that, I moved to Jaipur because if you want to play at a higher level, you have to move forward. I’ve been practicing in Jaipur for the last four years, ” Mukul, who was the Player of the Match, said at the post-match presentation ceremony on Thursday.
“Then last year, I felt that cricket had become much faster, especially at the field level, so I needed more match experience. I stayed in Gurugram for 3-4 months and played matches in Delhi, which helped me a lot in adapting to faster-paced cricket. That’s been my journey,” he added.
