Unmukt Chand Has Left Indian Cricket and Hopes To Play League Cricket in the USA

Unmukt Chand was the captain of India’s 2012 Under-19 World Cup and won the championship. At the age of 28, he left Indian cricket. On his Twitter, he made a thread where he shared the details of the decision and said he’s looking for new possibilities all over the world. 

 Lately, Chand has joined the Silicon Valley Strikers for the 2021 season of the Minor League Cricket. His first appearance will happen in the match with Socal Lashings on Saturday.

When Chand moved to the San Francisco Bay Area he signed a multi-year contract with Major League Cricket. He agreed to help in the improvement of the young generation in American cricket. The fans may remember his impressive performance at the Under-19 level – he scored 111 runs in that 2012 final against Australia to win the Player-of-the-Match award. 

“I don’t know how I should be feeling because honestly, I am still figuring it out. Winning the U-19 World cup for India is one of the biggest moments of my life. It was a special feeling to lift the cup as a captain and bring smiles to so many Indians across the world. I can never forget that feeling,” Chand said.

Chand made his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi while he was a schoolboy and hit his maiden first-class century- 151. Later, he debuted in IPL at the age of 18. He was trying to show a better performance in the IPL to impress the top teams. However, he became a regular part of India A and supported them to win in the match with New Zealand A in 2013 and Bangladesh A in 2015.

In 2019-20, he joined Uttarakhand but he missed the chance to shine there too. In seven first-class games that season, he made 195 runs at an average of 13.92. Chand waits for a chance to show himself on the top as a high-level player. Unfortunately, Chand played his last match about 18 months ago. “Cricket is a universal game and even though the means might change, the end goal is still the same – to play cricket at the highest level,” Chand said.