Mukul Choudhary, signed for ₹2.60 crore in the IPL auction, stole the show in Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) thrilling three-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Thursday (April 9).
Chasing a target of 182, LSG collapsed to 128/7. However, Mukul single-handedly turned the game on its head, smashing an unbeaten 54 off just 27 balls with 2 fours and 7 sixes to take his team over the line on the final delivery.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, the 21-year-old dedicated the innings to the legendary MS Dhoni and his father, Dalip Kumar Choudhary, who wanted to make his son a cricketer even before getting married.
In an exclusive chat with TOI, Dalip on Friday (April 10) revealed that he had always wanted his son to become a cricketer and was ready to do anything to make it happen.
To finance Mukul's expensive training, cricket gear, and academy fees, Dalip ventured through immense financial hardships. He sold the family house and took massive loans, accumulating a debt of around ₹3.5 crore. His inability to repay the mounting debts and loans at one point led to him serving time in jail.
“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. When so many people make it, why can’t my son?” Dalip recalled.
In 2016, the father-son duo traveled to SBS Crickhub in Sikar, approximately 70 km from their home in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu, marking the start of Mukul’s structured cricket training.
“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,” Dalip said.
“Yes, I failed to pay instalments on time. I even went to jail, but I never committed fraud,” he added.
Alongside the financial struggles, Dalip faced extreme social backlash, including being called a "madman" by relatives.
“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 remarked.
