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| photo via twitter |
Unmukt Chand, the face of 2012 U19 World Cup winning team has said goodbye to his India career after signing a 3-year contract with USA’s Major League Cricket (MLC). Along with Chand, his World Cup winningteammates – wicket keeper batsman Smit Patel and left arm spinner Harmeet Singh has also joined MLC.
This decision has certainly ended his childhood dream of playing for India at highest level. Chand was one of the most prolific run-scorers in the history of U19 cricket, after hitting 111* in the final against a giant team like AUS, he gained overnight success. After that he was a regular member of India A team for a few years.
He also became captain of India A team. After becoming the captain of IND A team it was matter of time that he was going to represent IND in a senior team. In 2014, he got selected for senior team to play against West Indies in a ODI series. In the same year he smashed two consecutive hundreds in Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy. But no one knows about the fate, this series was probably That was probably the closest he came to the national team.
Cricket is known for its uncertainty. No one can predict the destiny of any individual. Destiny has its own role and one can not control the destiny. Chand’s cricketing career has had various ups and downs. From an not very successful IPL to opting to represent Uttarakhand after losing his place for Delhi in Ranji. Earlier Chand was hailed as the next big thing in Cricket considering his his U19 success. Even people started to compare him with Virat Kohli.
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| winning team of 2012 U19 WC |
“It’s a tough one for someone like me, who has always dreamed of playing for the country. And most of it very emotional one as well and obviously, having played every other cricket, except for the senior team, I think it was a very painful call. But then the last few years have not been very kind to me in terms of facing a lot of association politics among other things. I’ve not been able to play a lot of cricket because of such things and that is why I arrived at this decision, to play some good cricket here in the US. I’d finally like to thank the BCCI for their support over the years in making me the cricketer I am today” said Chand to Cricbuzz.
According to Chand, he lost his faith in Indian cricket because last he wasn’t given a single chance to represent Delhi in Ranji. “Things like that hurt you as a player. When certain players who lack a certain pedigree play ahead of you then it feels like a slap on your face. I’ve never gotten the support I’ve yearned from DDCA all these years. I ‘ve been ousted from the team multiple times for no fault of mine.”
The last time Chand captained India A was way back in a series in 2016. All the other players part of that team went on to play for India, except Chand. The India A captain would then be bizarrely dropped from the Delhi one day side later in the year.
But Chand thinks whatever happened, happened for a reason and for now he wants to focus on the job at hand. “I am only 28. I have 10 solid years of cricket left in me. I wasn’t getting a lot of game time in India in the past couple of years. The means may have changed but the goal is still the same to be the batsman I can be and play international cricket” added Chand. Chand believes that he’s always desires to play cricket at highest level and get as much game time as possible. It is also something he’s paid a heavy price before when he left the Mumbai Indians in 2017 after an IPL franchise promised him a guaranteed pick in the auction which wasn’t to be. Chand never played an IPL game after that.
Known to speak his mind out from the beginning. Chand believes the T20 leagues mushrooming around the world is the future of cricket and there’d be more players that might follow suit.
“I do have a feeling that world cricket is also transforming into a league-dominated structure. This move opens many more options for me. If you’re not playing the IPL and if you don’t get to play Ranji Trophy you’re left with nothing if you are an Indian cricketer. I think I have opted out at the right time to open many avenues for me”
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