Fit-again Mukesh Choudhary is back, bowling faster and wiser after Dhoni's lessons

In Palam, Mukesh Choudhary did not have much bowling to do. In a Ranji Trophy Elite match earlier this week, Services had spent 80 overs at the crease in their first innings, showing grit without always making the scoreboard move. Maharashtra needed a breakthrough, and as the afternoon wore on, Mukesh felt the new ball might offer one.Stationed at cover, the left-arm seamer called out to captain Prithvi Shaw, who was at the slips, asking whether they could take the new ball. Shaw agreed. Mukesh got an over, but the captain soon returned to his spinners. It was a brief intervention, but one that showed Mukesh was thinking beyond his own workload, reading the conditions and looking for a way to shift the game. Maharashtra eventually bowled Services out and sealed a 106-run first-innings lead.Mukesh had bowled 13 overs and taken one wicket in the first innings. He did not bowl in the second. Yet, watching him at Palam, there was something reassuring about the way he carried himself. Fit, strong and actively involved in the contest, he looked every bit the left-arm fast bowler who can make people sit up and watch. For a player whose career has been repeatedly interrupted by injury, the small signs mattered.Since making his first-class debut in 2017, Mukesh has played only 24 matches in the format, alongside 26 List A games and 44 T20s. Injuries have repeatedly interrupted his progress, keeping him away from the game for long stretches just as he looked ready to move forward. Mukesh Choudhary is focused on staying fit and bowling faster. (Photo: Instagram/mukesh__33) But, Mukesh has begun the 2026-27 season with a five-wicket haul for Rest of India against Jammu and Kashmir in the Irani Cup and was now preparing to travel to New Zealand with India A for the multi-day matches. After years of stop-start progress, he was back in the selectors' field of vision.“Feeling great. A good start to the season in Irani. Now, I will head to New Zealand. I am fully fit and mentally clear. No doubts,” Mukesh tells IndiaToday.in. The confidence is not difficult to understand. The Irani Cup performance was a reminder of what he can do when fit, but it also offered something more important: proof to himself that he belongs at that level.“When you perform in a big match, you realise that you belong to that level and that you deserve to go even further,” he says.“So, you feel a lot of confidence, and especially when the team wins, you have to bowl in different situations. There were one or two loose spells here and there, but there was never any doubt that I couldn't do it or that I don't belong at this level.”The challenge after an injury is not always simply to get the body ready. There is also the question of whether the bowler who returns can trust himself to do what he once did.Mukesh knows that uncertainty. His troubles began in 2022, when a side strain and a stress reaction were followed by another back injury. The recovery took almost 18 months, a period in which the routine of a professional fast bowler had to be rebuilt from the smallest possible unit. Mukesh Choudhury (left) with Mukesh Kumar (right). (Photo: Instagram/mukesh__33) “Sometimes it feels like I won't be able to bowl the way I used to because back injuries are very difficult to heal and come back stronger,” he says.“But that was not the case with me. I kept doing my basics right, like even the smallest of things. Reps I used to do with full attention and didn't take any shortcuts.”The comeback began with six balls, delivered with a release, before he gradually increased his workload until he could bowl 10 overs with a full run-up. There was no shortcut through the process, no dramatic moment when he suddenly felt ready to return. It was one day after another, building towards the point at which bowling could again become second nature.“It took me almost 18 months to come back from that injury,” he says.“After that injury, I actually started bowling quicker, almost 10 kilometres quicker. So that rehab and what happened to me was, I think, a learning experience for me to see how I can get better and in which areas I can improve.”The increase in pace was an unexpected reward for the work that went into his rehabilitation. Mukesh says he had generally operated at around 130-135 kph before his back injury and can now reach 140 kph comfortably. He wants to retain that speed without losing the ability to move the ball both ways. For a left-arm seamer, the combination can be particularly useful, especially with the new ball.“After that injury, my pace automatically went up without putting in so much extra effort. So, I want to bowl at my top speed and still want to move the ball both ways. That's the plan,” he says.EDUCATION FROM MS DHONIThe physical improvement, however, did not immediately translate into regular cricket. Mukesh's confidence was initially affected by the lack of matches, and the years after his breakthrough IPL season were stop-start. In 2022, he had emerged as one of Chennai Super Kings' most promising finds, taking 16 wickets in 13 matches and finishing as the franchise's leading wicket-taker. The following year, he missed the entire IPL season because of injury. His appearances remained limited in the seasons that followed.For a bowler who had made such a striking first impression, the interrupted run was frustrating. But CSK's backing became an important part of his recovery. Mukesh had first been around the franchise as a net bowler in 2021 before being bought at the auction ahead of the 2022 season. He had found an environment in which he could learn from established players and work out what was required to survive at the highest level. Mukesh Choudhary credits MS Dhoni for valuable lessons at CSK. (Photo: Instagram/mukesh__33) Much of that education came from MS Dhoni. Mukesh has spoken previously about the former CSK captain's advice to keep things simple, avoid pressure and move on from mistakes. The message was not limited to the immediate challenge of bowling in an IPL match. Dhoni also made him think about what he needed to improve before returning for another season.“Mahi bhai just says to keep it simple and that you have all the skills to play at this level, so keep learning,” Mukesh says. “His only advice for me is that when you go from here after the IPL, come back next year with something improved in your skills, like yorkers, more accuracy in yorkers, better control on length, and being mentally stronger. These are the areas you have to improve. If you remain the same, the game moves forward and you won't be able to catch up.”That advice has stayed with him, particularly the idea that a bad day need not become a lasting setback. Fast bowling can be unforgiving, and the T20 game gives bowlers little time to recover when batters attack. Mukesh says he learnt at CSK that a good performance should not make a bowler complacent, just as a poor one should not define what follows.“If you have a good day, you have to remain the same, and if you have a bad day, just learn something from it and leave it behind,” he says. “You can't change anything, whether it's a good day or a bad day.”He is also learning when to pull back rather than keep attacking on a difficult day.“If I feel that this is not my day, that I'm not executing my length, yorkers, and other deliveries, then I will set a safe field and just try to give singles to the batsman rather than attacking them and giving away more runs,” he said.MORE RED BALL CRICKETFor all the attention his IPL performances have brought him, Mukesh's ambitions lie firmly in red-ball cricket. He enjoys bowling long spells, the patience it demands and the mental test of having to return to the same task over several hours. The Irani Cup five-for was therefore more than a useful performance ahead of the New Zealand tour. It came in the format he most wants to play.“My ultimate aim is to play more red-ball cricket, because T20 is a short game, and if I'm playing red-ball, then I can play T20 anytime,” he says. “So I like playing red-ball cricket, I like bowling long spells, and it tests your mentality and patience sometimes. So it's good.”The India A tour offers another opportunity to test himself in those conditions. It is also a chance to build on the confidence he regained in the Irani Cup, alongside a group that includes fellow fast bowler Akash Deep. Mukesh is not making elaborate plans for New Zealand. He wants to express himself, perform for the team and learn from the experience.He is equally measured when asked about the goals he has set for the season before the IPL. After so much time spent thinking about recovery, fitness and the next opportunity, he is wary of becoming too preoccupied with what might happen.“I don't want to set any goals, because if you plan too much, you forget to live in the present and start thinking about the results and what will happen,” he says. “I just want to enjoy my cricket. I'm bowling well, I'm fit, and I just want to hit the right lengths, and that's it.”There is no grand declaration about an India debut, nor a promise to make up for the seasons he lost. The immediate task is more modest, and perhaps more demanding: to remain fit, keep bowling well and make himself available often enough for opportunities to come his way.- Ends