Once he gave India the Under 19 World Cup. Now, Unmukt Chand will play for USA against India

• If everything stays on track, then Unmukt Chand will be playing against India in the 2024 T20 world cup
• Chand was captain of the Indian team which once won the U19 world cup in 2012 and he was rightly compared with Virat Kohli
• Exposure to glamour at tender age coupled with a highly competitive cricket circuit in India meant that Chand could not sustain himself for long

The Under 19 cricket world cup is the second most highly publicised global tournament in the cricketing world. Its winning captains are revered. However, not everyone is able to achieve their potential in senior cricket. Unmukt Chand is one of them. He had to become a USA citizen to fulfil his passion for the game.

Unmukt Chand to play against India

If everything remains in sync, then Unmukt Chand, India’s former Junior world cup winning captain will be playing against the country of his birth in the 2024 T20 world cup. Riding on the back of confidence fuelled by its high profile imports like yorker specialist Rusty Theron, power hitter Corey Anderson and stabiliser Unmukt Chand, the cricket team of USA has qualified to play in the 2024 edition of the short format world cup.

The announcement regarding the qualification was made by the official Twitter handle of USA cricket. Cricket USA wrote, “HUGE NEWS!!! The @ICC has today confirmed automatic qualification for #TeamUSA as co-host of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 alongside West Indies!!”

As soon as USA cricket posted this tweet, Netizens started to speculate about Chand playing against his own country.

In fact, Unmukt Chand is a strong pillar of the USA team and it does not look plausible to keep him out of the team in the world cup. If India and USA will be in the same group, then Unmukt Chand will definitely be donning the American hat against his own country of birth.

Read more: India is now a five-time under 19 world champion, but that’s not good news

Chand was a budding superstar of Indian cricket

Unmukt Chand was once touted as the next big thing to come out of India’s U-19 cricketing infrastructure. When he scored a match-winning century in the 2012 U19 world cup, gates were opened for his comparisons with predecessor stalwarts like Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif etc. The fact that he was captain of the team and previous junior world cup winning captain Virat Kohli was at one of the many peaks of his career meant that Chand was touted as a challenge to Kohli’s legacy.

Read more: Virat Kohli was supposed to be the next Tendulkar but he ended up as an over accomplished Kambli

But, no matter how much media coverage the U19 cricket world cup gets, the fact remains that it is amongst the lowest rungs of the hierarchy in cricket. It is way below Ranji, which is a precursor to selection in the senior team. Initially, Chand showed the potential that he was in for the long haul. His dedication and willingness to try hard grabbed headlines for him.

Read more: If team India has a strong bench strength, why does it keep losing?

Chand started well but the downhill journey was steeper

Chand was selected in Delhi’s state team. In March 2013, he vindicated his selection by scoring 116 for his team in the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Assam. Chand was then picked by the Delhi Daredevils team for playing in IPL 2013. It is in this mega tournament that Chand got the first big shock of his life. On the very first ball of his IPL career, he was stunned by veteran and fading speedster Brett Lee. Chand was squared up by Binga. His inability to coordinate with the high-speed movement of a wobbling ball got exposed on a big stage.

Later, Unmukt Chand failed to produce a consistent performance for whichever team he played. His technique could not adapt to the changing needs of a high-octane game. In his first-class career, he played 67 matches and scored only 3379 runs at a meagre average of 31.57. He was better in List A (limited-overs) matches as he averaged 41.33 in 120 games.

Focussed on limited-overs game

Watching his career fall like a pack of cards, Chand decided to switch his focus to limited-overs and other aspects of the game. Unmukt became the first Indian player to be signed up by a Big Bash Cricket team. He was roped in by Melbourne Renegades for the 2021 season. In August 2021, Chand emerged as the highest run-scorer in Minor League Cricket, a domestic T20 tournament in USA.

In the same month, Chand decided that he won’t be playing in Indian cricketing circuits anymore. “Though a part of me is not at peace with the way things have unfolded in the last few years, I still choose to see the silver lining and fondly bid adieu to BCCI and seek better opportunities around the world,”, he announced on twitter

Lesson for young generations

Frankly, it’s tough to pinpoint the exact reason forcing Chand to migrate to USA. Part of the blame lies with the media, which unnecessarily promotes immature cricketers, inciting a feeling of stardom in their heads. On the other hand, Chand also deserves blame for not focussing on his basics. In fact, he was once rebuked by the great Kapil Dev for ditching his practice session to attend an event.

The competitive landscape in Indian cricket is full of cricketers who give in their day in and day out to the game. It’s not easy for 1 person to rise above nearly 700 million competitors. Unmukt Chand is a sad story, but for youth, there is a lesson in it. It’s only their skills that will stay with them. Other stuff around this is like leaves on trees which take a blow of wind to fall down.