New Delhi, April 10 – Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) head coach Justin Langer has praised young batsman Mukul Choudhary, calling him a "great athlete" with a "sharp mind," comparing his game sense and exceptional running between the wickets to that of the legendary Virat Kohli.
Choudhary's match-winning unbeaten 54 off 27 balls, with seven sixes and two fours against KKR, has brought him into the spotlight. "What I love most is that he is a real athlete, and the way he runs between the wickets is exceptional. It's like how Virat runs, but another thing about him is his game sense.
"We've had some practice games, and the way he talks about the game is like he's played 300 matches. So, he has a lot of power, he's a great athlete, and he has a sharp mind. He has a very inquisitive mind and wants to improve. He worked on the short ball. We've been doing drills with him every day, and it showed in practice and in the game," said Langer on JioHotstar.
He also revealed how their team analyst, Shrinivas Chandrashekaran, was crucial in getting Choudhary on board. "We saw him at a training camp a few months ago. There's so much talent in this country. A big shout-out to Shrinivas, our data analyst, who said, 'Coach, we need this kid.'
Asked about his thought process when LSG needed 54 runs off the final 24 balls, Langer said, "I was probably thinking about what I was going to say to our players. I thought we bowled brilliantly on this wicket; we were outstanding.
"I actually wrote that down, and regardless of whether we win or lose, our bowling was excellent, and our fielding was also exceptional. So, I was really pleased with that, but we also talked about taking responsibility, and we saw a 22-year-old kid taking responsibility; what an effort it was."
Langer believes that pulling off such a win early in the tournament acts as a "magic tonic" for team morale. "If you win the close ones, you get that little bit of belief, don't you? It doesn't matter whether you do it with the ball or with the bat; these tight wins are like a magic tonic. So, hopefully, it's a confidence booster that we like at the start of the season, and we have a lot more to achieve as well."
