Who is Agni Chopra? Son of renowned Bollywood director and journalist duo who scored 209 balls double ton in Ranji Trophy

Cricket and Movies are the two modes of entertainment that sell in India like hotcakes. The crossover from Cricket into movies has been common in the past. The likes of Sandeep Patil, Sunil Gavaskar, Salil Ankola, Ajay Jadeja, and Vinod Kambli have been part of Bollywood in the past in some form. Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth have also transitioned to movies in recent times. 

Agni Chopra may be a name not many cricket fans may be well versed with. The 25-year-old, though, has been in the news for his terrific run-scoring in the Ranji Trophy format. Born on 4th November 1998 in Detroit, Michigan, young Agni has a huge Bollywood lineage. His father is noted director and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. His mother Anupama Chopra is also a very successful journalist and is a known Bollywood movie critic. 

It was surprising that Agni Chopra chose to play for Mizoram in Ranji Trophy cricket, despite coming through the ranks in Mumbai. Since his debut earlier this year, against Sikkim, Agni Chopra has gone to play 8 First class matches and scored 1367 runs. His average reads a stellar 91.13 with 7 centuries and 4 half-centuries. 

Mizoram’s run-machine catches attention with quickfire historic double-century

25-year-old Agni Chopra created history after his Ranji Trophy debut. The left-handed batter from Mizoram became the first-ever batter to score four centuries in his first 4 matches. The left-handed batter scored 166 and 92 against Sikkim, before scoring 164 and 15 against Nagaland. 

In his third game, the young batter scored 114 and 10 against Arunachal before a century in each innings (105 and 101) against Meghalaya. His only game against an elite opponent was against Hyderabad where he scored 43 and 7 for his side. 

During one of his interactions with leading NEWS agency PTI, the young batter was asked why he didn’t join Bollywood. The youngster replied saying, “So, I have been asked this question from childhood that will you go into movies, but I never thought I would ever be in movies. I never thought that ‘Oh, I should get in because my dad makes movies, and it will be an easy avenue for me’. I was never interested in movies. I mean I love watching movies and having a great time, but it was never my passion.'”

This season, Chopra has begun well with scores of 51 and 29 in the opening game of the season against Sikkim. Then came the biggest moment in the fledgling career of Agni Chopra where he became the first ever player to score a century and double century in the same game of Ranji Trophy. 

That feat came during the game against Arunachal Pradesh where the left-handed batter scored 110 runs in the 1st innings. In the second innings, the youngster scored 238 not out from 209 balls with 33 fours and 5 sixes to help his side win the game by 267 runs. 

With the IPL 2025 Auctions around the corner, the former Mumbai cricket team youth prospect will be looking to be picked. Last year, Chopra wasn’t picked but he took the failure in his stride and made a rather retrospective statement where he felt he needed to do better. 

When asked by the media why he wasn’t picked, the young batter said, “Maybe I am not good enough so I wasn't picked. For me, I want to be picked for anything based on my pedigree, it shouldn't be because of anything else. I don't think my dad would ever pick up the phone and tell anyone just because I told him to. I have to be good enough so that they are calling my dad, rather than my dad calling them.”