Mukul still gets goosebumps when he thinks about that IPL night at Eden Gardens.
Facing KKR, the youngster played one of the knocks of the season, smashing 57 off just 27 balls with seven towering sixes to pull off a stunning chase for Lucknow Super Giants. After sealing the win, Mukul stood in the middle of the ground with folded hands, head tilted towards the sky, soaking in the moment.
“A lot has changed in T20 cricket. For one, the Impact Player rule has come in. Earlier, batters were expected to build long innings and stay at the crease. Now teams have two all-rounders and batting extends all the way down to No. 9. The mindset has changed – as soon as you walk in, you’re expected to attack,” he said.
“Earlier, one coach at an academy would work with 20 or 30 children. Today, an entire support system is built around a talented player from a very young age. Look at Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, his father travelled with him everywhere while he was growing up. Having a mentor and specialised coaches has become extremely important.
Players now have personalised training programmes, book grounds for individual practice and receive far more focused attention. All of that has changed the game significantly,” he explained.
“I learned a great deal from my time there. The one thing everyone kept telling me was to stay positive, whether it was handling pressure situations or adapting my batting to the demands of the match.
“Mitchell Marsh would often tell me, ‘Bat as deep into the innings as you can. If you’re still there, you can win matches for your team. There’s no point throwing your wicket away in a hurry.’ I also learned a lot from Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran. And yes, I spent a lot of time working on my six-hitting as well,” he said”
The biggest influence, however, was skipper Rishabh Pant.
The biggest support for me was the trust Pant Bhaiya showed in me. He would always say, ‘Brother, we trust you, so you need to trust yourself too. You’re here because you’re good enough to be here. You haven’t reached this level by accident, you’ve done something special to earn this opportunity. So back yourself and believe in your ability.’ His faith in me gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.
Bigger plans ahead
Mukul finished IPL 2026 with 170 runs from 10 matches at a strike rate of 141.66, including 12 sixes. Despite LSG enduring a disappointing campaign and becoming the first team eliminated from the tournament, Mukul remains confident about the future.
“All I would like to say is that we couldn’t perform as well this season as they had hoped. But we’ll make sure we don’t fall short next time. We’ll come back stronger and do much better.”
“I learned a tremendous amount from this IPL. The tournament taught me a lot, and I’ve already started thinking about what I want to improve before next season. In a few days, I’ll begin preparing again,” he signed off.