New Delhi: “Nothing is found across the bridge, there is a son in it, the clouds are many directions, then we have learned to become a river. (Nothing is achieved in a moment, a whole lifetime is spent in this struggle. We collected innumerable clouds and only then learned how a river is formed). This poem is from poet Sandeep Dwivedi’s book “Rone Se Kuch Hota Hai Kya” and this line is also the WhatsApp status of Dilip Chaudhary, father of Mukal Chaudhary.
“It is quite a satik line, Hum Duno is a father daughter story. Dilip Chaudhary told TimesofIndia.com (This line perfectly captures my son’s and my journey.)From an early age, Muckle faced difficulties. Whether it was his father selling his house, or his struggle to find a good cricket academy, or regular visits from loan sharks, or his father going to jail, the journey was anything but easy. After Lucknow Supergiants’ second match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the 21-year-old struggled to find his rhythm with the bat in a tight chase. Skipper Rishabh Pant eventually took LSG home and tried to lift Mukul’s confidence after hitting the winning shot.
Lucknow Supergiants’ Mukul Chaudhary celebrates after winning the match. (ANI Photo)
However, the youngster could not control his emotions after returning to the team hotel. Dileep, who was watching the match from his home in Jhunjhunu, saw his son’s red eyes during the video call.I asked, did my son cry?“He was disappointed that he couldn’t finish the game. He kept saying that the LSG management bought him for so much money, so what’s the point if he can’t win the match for them? He was worried. He promised me that he will make everyone proud in the next match, and he kept that promise,” he added.
He promised me that he will make everyone proud in the next match and he fulfilled that promise.
Father of Mukesh Chaudhary
Chowdhury hails from Khedao, a small village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district. When LSG signed him in the auction for Rs 2.60 crore, 13 times his base price, the first thing he told his father was that he would pay back the loans he had taken to fulfill his cricketing dream. His father even sold his house to keep this dream alive.“I graduated in 2003, I got married in the same year, and my dream was that if I had a son, he would play cricket. The next year I had a son, and from a very young age I decided that I would do everything to make him a cricketer. When so many people become, why not my son,” (Why can’t he be my son?) recalled.
Mukesh Chaudhary with his father at their home. (special arrangement)
For six years, Dilip Chaudhary prepared for the Rajasthan Administrative Service, but could not clear the exam. He then ventured into the real estate business which also failed. In 2016, in search of a good cricket academy, father and son approached SBS Kirkab in Sekar, about 70 km from home.“Once I registered it, I realized I didn’t have enough money. I decided to sell my house because I didn’t 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 installments on time. I even went to jail, but I never committed fraud,” he said.
My relatives left me. They called me crazy. You have ruined your life, now spare your son (You have ruined your life, now spare your son)
Father of Mukesh Chaudhary
“My relatives abandoned me, they called me crazy. ‘Ruined your life, ab ab ai son bakshde’ (You have ruined your life, now leave 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 on the right path,” he added, adding that I was on the right path.Dileep himself was a cricketer but played only local tournaments in his village.Dileep reminisced, “For me, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar 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.”
Mukul Chowdhury
In the 2025-26 Under-23 List A Trophy, Mukul Chaudhary emerged as the highest run-scorer. He scored 617 runs including two centuries and four fifties at a strike rate of 142.49. He hit 39 sixes which is the most sixes in the tournament.His performances caught the attention of Rajasthan’s Ranji coach Anshu Jain, who selected him as a replacement for the injured Karthik 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 sealed the game with four sixes,” recalls Anshu Jain.
The chopper shot he hit over cover drive for a six is one of the many strokes in his armoury. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Mumbai, he hit a pull shot at mid-on
Anshu Jain | Head Coach of Rajasthan Cricket Team
“He’s tall, long-levered, and very athletic. The chopper shot he hit on a cover drive for a six is one of many strokes in his arsenal. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Mumbai, he hit a pull-shot six over mid-on. This shot surprised me, and even the Mumbai players applauded.The 21-year-old named his knock after his father and his idol MS Dhoni.“I will dedicate this performance to my father, who decided even before marriage that his son would play cricket,” Chaudhary told reporters after his heroics in Kolkata.
Justin Langer and Mikal Chaudhary after the match. (Image credit: IPL)
“I always liked the way Dhoni finished the game. He could even hit a yorker for a six. When you can hit a delivery like that, the bowler is forced to think differently,” he added.On a night when Eden Gardens was roaring for a new hero, it wasn’t just a 27-ball blitz. It was the weight of years, sacrifices, debt and faith that release finally came. Mukul Chowdhury did not finish just one match. He kept a promise, paid the father’s faith, and turned the story of struggle into one of advent.
