He has been on a rising curve.
Mumbai Indians (MI) have the lowest budget of INR 2.75 crore in the IPL 2026 auction, and they need to fill a couple of crucial slots – finding a decent wrist spinner and a backup wicketkeeper-batter for Ryan Rickelton. With a limited purse, MI will need to focus on the domestic pool to buy unknown talents, and one of their targets can be Mukul Choudhary.
Mukul is a young wicketkeeper-batter who has been on a rising curve and shown tremendous skill sets in local and domestic tournaments. Playing for Rajasthan in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 contest against Delhi yesterday, the 21-year-old scored a blistering 62 in just 26 balls, including one boundary and seven maximums, at a strike rate of 238.46.
Moreover, he was also the leading run-scorer in the U23 State A Trophy Elite 2025, with 617 runs at an average of 102.83 and a strike rate of 142.49 in nine innings, including four fifties and two centuries. Additionally, the young sensation has shown superb technique behind the wickets and already taken marvellous catches in local tournaments, which should excite IPL franchises.
Earlier in November, Mukul Choudhary attended trials for the Mumbai Indians, while teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have reportedly asked for his batting videos. That suggests he might be on the radar of several IPL teams, and a decent deal can be on the cards in the auction.
Mumbai Indians (MI) have Ryan Rickelton and Robin Minz as wicketkeeper-batters in the squad, but they would still want another option in this department. After initial success, Rickelton’s recent form hasn’t been convincing at all, and he has shown ample weaknesses as a batter.
ALSO READ:
Obviously, he will still be MI’s first choice, but they can’t trust him to suddenly regain his form against quality IPL attacks since his international form has regressed. The issue for the Mumbai Indians is their low budget, since they spent more on trade deals and didn’t release many big-budget players ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.
Hence, Mukul Choudhary will fit nicely since his cost might not be too high, and he also bats in the middle and lower middle order. If required, MI can play him and open with Will Jacks and Rohit Sharma since Mukul won’t take an overseas slot.
After Sherfane Rutherford’s trade before the retention deadline, Jacks’ chances of getting enough game time are low, and he can only play if Rickelton sits out from the XI. Overall, Mukul will be a good addition to the squad, and MI don’t mind having a few rising players in their team.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
