MLC 2025: Who is Agni Chopra, the MI New York player who chose cricket over Bollywood

Agni Chopra’s name is suddenly everywhere in Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025, but his story is as unique as his name. Many know him as the son of famous Bollywood filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra and popular film critic Anupama Chopra.

But Agni never wanted the spotlight of movies as he chose cricket instead. This year, Agni’s big break came mid-air! On 19th February, he boarded an Air India flight from San Francisco to Mumbai. While he was flying without Wi-Fi, the MLC draft was happening. Seventeen long hours later, he landed, switched on his phone and saw a message from his mother — MI New York had picked him for $50,000! For a boy who grew up supporting Mumbai Indians, it was like a dream come true.

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But Agni’s journey has not been easy. He started playing cricket at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park when he was just six. While many thought being from a film family would help, it actually made things harder. Other players and some coaches thought he was just another rich kid who wouldn’t stick to cricket.

To avoid standing out, Agni even asked his driver to park far away so no one would see him arrive by car. He wanted to be seen as just another boy with a bat, not a star kid with privileges.

Slowly, runs spoke for him. In the 2019-20 Col. C.K. Nayudu Trophy, Agni scored nearly 800 runs for Mumbai U-23s, including three centuries and a double ton. He credits his coach Khushpreet Singh Aulakh, who became more like a big brother, for turning him into a tough cricketer.Quiz: Who's that IPL player? But life tested him again. Despite his runs, Mumbai’s Ranji team never called. An injury and a tough breakup made things worse. He even thought of quitting cricket. But a call from Mizoram changed everything. There, Agni smashed four centuries in his first four First-Class games and finished the season with 939 runs. He did it again the next season too! However, due to a rule that only Indian passport holders can play Ranji Trophy, Agni, who has an American passport, decided to focus fully on MLC. He says days cricket is still closest to his heart, but playing in the US gives him new hope and a chance to play against top players at his peak.