‘Iss saal darwaja tootega jaroor’ (I will be able to break that door): Mukesh Kumar on his IPL trials

Mukesh Kumar was one of those rare cricketers who got selected for India without having an IPL contract. The 29-year-old was picked for India’s home series agan South Africa. Although, he didn’t get a game, it put Mukesh in the limelight. On Friday, he was picked Delhi Capitals for Rs 5.50 crores, 27 times more than his base price of Rs 20 lakhs.
“Bhaiyya udhar bhi trials chal raha mera kaafi saalon se, darwaja tootega jaroor (I have been giving IPL trials for years now; hopefully, I will able to break that door),” he had told the Indian Express after his maiden India call up.
Kumar, who hails from Gopalganj in Bihar, moved to Kolkata in 2012 to help his father’s taxi business, which was suffering losses. But he went against the wish of his father (Late Kashinath Singh), and started playing local matches in the second league for Rs 400-500.

From being a part of our Extended Squad in #IPL2022 to now arriving straight into DC’s Main Squad for #IPL2023 🫡
Welcome to #QilaKotla, Mukesh 💙#YehHaiNayiDilli #TATAIPLAuction #IPL2023 #IPL2023Auction pic.twitter.com/Q5QzY4hZNT
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) December 23, 2022
In 2014, he appeared in a trial, which changed his life. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) was organising a ‘Vision 2020 programme,’ where he was spotted Ranadeb Bose, former Bengal pacer and bowling coach. The trials were conducted with VVS Laxman, Waqar Younis and Muttiah Muralitharan at the helm.
Within a year, he was picked for Bengal, and his consent performance over the years, helped him to get an India A call-up against New Zealand A, where he bagged a five-wicket haul. Now a month later, he has received his maiden India call for the ODI series against South Africa.
“It is all about the trials in my life. First one in Gopalganj, where I became the drict’s best bowler and then in Kolkata, which changed my life,” Mukesh Kumar had said.
“There has been a struggle in my life, but it is common. Har kisi ke saath hota hai (Everyone goes through that phase). My aim was to play cricket at the highest level and I am living my dream. Agar zindagi mey mushkiley na aati toh shayad mai yahaan nahi pahunch paata (If I had not gone through those hard times in my life, I would have never reached here),” he added.
Mukesh feels he got lucky at every step of his life. Be it his father, who forced him to move to Bengal, Ranadeb Bose, who was in awe after watching him bowl in nets, Manoj Tiwari, who gave him his own kit, or Arun Lal, who said ‘You have the potential to play for India.’
“I was very lucky. At every step, I got help. My father gave me one year to make a career out of cricket. And thereafter, I was fortunate enough to learn from Rano Sir (Ranadeb), Manoj bhaiya (Tiwary), Arun Lal sir. If not for these people, I would have never made it this far,” he said.
Kumar recalls when he was selected for Bengal for the Buchi Babu tournament, he didn’t have a cricket kit.
“Manoj bhaiya mereko bat, pad aur gloves diya tha (Manoj Tiwary gave me a bat, leg guards and gloves),” Kumar recalls.
Before 2019-20 season, when he was in the Bengal camp, Kumar got a call from his elder brother Dhanset, who informed him about the demise of his father.
“My father had a brain haemorrhage in 2019. He never liked me playing cricket. He wated me to join army, I even gave CRPF exam twice. Today I just wish my father was alive. He would have been thrilled,” recalled Kumar.