Mukul Choudhary turned heads on Thursday when he played a whirlwind knock of 54 runs off 27 deliveries with seven sixes to help Lucknow Super Giants chase down 182 runs from a precarious position of 128/7 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He played some extraordinary strokes, one of which showcased his athleticism when he played a lofted shot over cover off a wide yorker on the penultimate delivery of the chase. However, LSG head coach Justin Langer wasn’t surprised to see his hitting skills as he had already witnessed it multiple times in the nets.
Langer, after the match, revealed how the team ended up picking Mukul Choudhary on the insistence of the data analyst Shrinivas and also gave him a major shout-out. For the unversed, LSG secured the services of the 21-year-old youngster for Rs 2.6 crore at the auction.
“We saw him earlier at a training camp a few months ago, the first time we picked him up. Thereโs so much talent in this country. A big shout-out goes to Shrinivas, our data analyst, who said, โCoach, weโve got to get this kid.โ So we did, and we were lucky to,” Langer told JioHotstar after the match.
Langer likens Mukul to Virat Kohli, here’s why
Justin Langer also further likened Mukul Choudhary to India legend Virat Kohli for the way he runs between the wickets. He also lauded the youngster’s game sense. “What I love most about him is that heโs a real athlete. The way he runs between the wickets is elite, like Virat. But the other thing is his game sense.
“Weโve had some practice games, and the way he talks about the game makes it feel like heโs played 300 matches already. Heโs got power, heโs a great athlete, and heโs got grace. As we both know, thatโs a pretty good combination,” Langer added.
“Heโs hungry. His parents and family will be very proud of him today. When you first come in, you try so hard, and this will be a massive moment in his life and career,” the former Australia cricket further said.
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