Arjun Tendulkar Mukul Choudhary. Image Credits: X/AFP
The April 9 night was a mere curse for Kolkata Knight Riders fans simply because of the audacity of a 21-year-old Mukul Choudhary to step up as a resilient force. When LSG’s top and middle order tumbled and hopes were shattered with KKR almost celebrating their first victory in IPL 2026, Mukul entered.
However, this talented phenomenon was already predicted by another great talent in the making, Sachin Tendulkar’s son, Arjun Tendulkar. Weeks earlier, before LSG had their first game in IPL 2026, Arjun predicted the gigantic rise of Mukul Choudhary.
Who is Mukul Choudhary? The LSG young gun who broke KKR’s dream
It wasn’t necessarily a bad start for Kolkata Knight Riders. After Kolkata posted 181 runs on the board for Lucknow Super Giants to chase at the Eden Gardens, things didn’t look too concerning initially.
In fact, things looked difficult for Lucknow, who lost two crucial wickets, Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh, inside the powerplay.
With Rishabh Pant also departing early in the ninth over, LSG were left reeling at 73/3. Mukul walked in after Abdul Samad’s dismissal, when LSG were struggling at 104/5. At that point, a certain win for Kolkata seemed inevitable.
However, Mukul turned the game on its head, taking LSG from needing 78 runs off 42 deliveries to a position where only 14 runs were required in the final over.
Arjun Tendulkar’s prediction comes true for young Mukul Choudhary
Ahead of the IPL 2026, Arjun Tendulkar attended the podcast of Shubhankar Mishra on his YouTube channel, which has over 8 million subscribers. The former news anchor hosted the cricketer for a pre-season chat show, where Tendulkar was seen opening up about cricket and life.
In a certain segment, Shubhankar was found asking Arjun, “Take name of a player of LSG who you think might be a big star by the next two years.”
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Arjun Tendulkar’s response was spontaneous as he replied with Mukul’s name.
“Mukul Choudhary bohot acche Chakke marte hai. Kal practice match mein main uske chakke dekhke bohot impress hua. (Mukul is an excellent hitter with the bat. Yesterday, in the practice match, I was really impressed by his six-hitting ability)”
The video published on YouTube on March 31, approximately 9 days before the KKR vs LSG clash, went viral for Tendulkar’s prediction. The YouTube video has a total of 2.2 million views and counting as of April 10, 2026.
How Mukul Choudhary turned a losing game into LSG’s favour
After Mukul arrived at the crease, he paired with Ayush Badoni and Avesh Khan for most of the runs to see the game through. After Mukul's arrival, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi, and Cameron Green were among the bowlers who conceded most of the runs.
KKR bowler Vaibhav Arora tried to defend 14 runs in the final over, but he also failed to do so. While Avesh Khan was on strike in the final over, the first ball saw the batters rotate the strike, and Arora was hit for a massive six on the very next ball, reducing the equation to seven runs required off four deliveries.
While the next two deliveries were dot balls, Mukul held his nerve to hit Arora for a huge six off a wide yorker outside off stump. With this, the game was tied, and on the final delivery, Avesh Khan and Mukul Choudhary stole a leg-bye single to seal the win for Lucknow Super Giants.
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