Cricketing talents are of three types. A once in a generation talent, exciting talent and gritty talent. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Ricky Ponting form the once in a generation talent. The likes of David Warner, Steve Smith and AB De Villiers form the exciting talent. Talents like Pujara, Dravid, Chanderpaul and Kallis form the gritty part. One thing that unites all these names is the fact that they had a chance to display their wares on the bigger stage. They made good to their promise they showed in their initial years to forge a successful career in cricket. There are many talents though who fizzled out after initial promise. Unmukt Chand is one such name and it indeed is a sad one.
The advertisement which showcased the future –
The year was 2012 Unmukt Chand had just won the under-19 world cup for India. He had scored a brilliant 111 to power India to a win over Australia in the final. When he came back with his team, he was the cynosure of all eyes. He was cast in an advertisement for a soft drink major. The ad showed Chand eyeing the senior team dressing room for a sip of the cold drink. Dhoni says “Oye under-19 yahan se (name of the brand) lene ke liye wait karna padega” to which Chand asks why does he have to wait and why not now. The ad featured Chand along with Dhoni, Raina and Kohli. Three names who had done the hard yards. This ad perhaps was a pre-cursor of things to come for Chand.
Comparisons with Kohli –
One of the things that heavily weighed Unmukt Chand down was the comparison with Kohli at every stage. And there was a reason for the comparison. Both Kohli and Chand made their domestic debut when they were aged 17. Both had led the nation to an under 19 world cup win. Chand and Kohli both as a batsmen are fearless and attacking. Sadly that’s where the comparisons end. While Kohli did not let the adulation get to his head, it seems Chand got carried away with it.
The struggle begins-
It is said that real education begins when you graduate out of college. For many cricketers under-19 cricket is the college and final destination for cricketing education. The domestic cricket and possible call up to the international cricket is the player where aspires to reach. Sadly for Chand that call never came. Despite India looking for a steady opener Chand never could grab the chances.
The IPL years and eventual snub –
If there is a trivia about which batsman started and ended his IPL career with a duck, then the answer will be Unmukt Chand. Making his debut in the IPL as a 18 year for Delhi, Chand was castled by Lasith Malinga for a two ball duck. Delhi that day were all out for 95. His last game in the IPL came in 2016 for Mumbai Indians. Chand scored a four ball duck against Punjab. In 5 years Chand played just 21 games in the IPL and scored 300 runs with a strike rate of exactly 100. The high point of his career came when he scored 58 against RCB un IPL 2015 and was part of Mumbai Indians 2nd title win that year. Sadly his IPL career was over aged 23 and since then he never found any takers.
Trials and tribulations in domestic cricket –
Chand had played 67 games in the Ranji trophu and scored just over 3300 runs with 8 centuries and 16 half centuries. One may consider this impressive with one look at the numbers. But consider the fact that Mayank Agarwal still had to wait a long time despite scoring 1000 runs in nearly a month. Chand as an opener averaged a mere 31 with the bat which is poor by the lofty standards Indian domestic cricket commands. Since his debut in 2010 he had played 67 games in the 11 years. This is simple indicator that he was always in and out of the Delhi side. A side which had the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir and Dhawan fighting for the top spot. A move to Uttarakhand did not bear fruits either. It was a wrong move to shift bases to a side which had just been granted Ranji status. While he was a big name in the small pond. Chand though scored a mere 195 runs from 7 games in 14 innings and averaged less than 14. This wasn’t really the kind of spark a former under-19 captain destined for bigger things would have hoped for.
From writing a book to commentating- ill advised moves of Chand
Writing books and memories are reserved for players who have already retired or achieved everything. Unmukt Chand though wrote a book about his conquests in under -19 cricket. Not that its wrong by any stretch of imagination. The problem though was it created a wrong perception, people thought may be in his own eyes he has achieved everything. May be just may be that was the reason he never made the step up. Not writing the book but the lack of hunger and motivation that every cricketer has to don the national cap. Last year he was seen commentating during the Caribbean Premier League and this was when he was just 27. An age where he should have put his head down and got down to work and shaped his game. Again if you see Agarwal made his test debut for India at 27, like Chand he too was a destructive and attacking opener. When everything seemed to be going against him, Agarwal worked on his game and made his dream come true.
Bidding good bye to India and embracing USA –
Earlier this year Smit Patel a former under-19 team mate of Unmukt Chand quit Indian cricket to embark on a new journey in the USA. Chand had rubbished reports and stated he wanted to play cricket in India. August 13, 2021, aged 28 the former Indian captain announced his retirement from Indian cricket. For a casual fan it may be a non-issue but for many cricket fans this is a sad day. Not only because Chand is quitting Indian cricket, but for the fact that a talent that shone so bright was put off even before it could sparkle. Unmukt Chand has revealed that he is the latest in the bandwagon of cricketers who have made USA their destination for a better crack at playing regularly.
The statement on twitter –
Unmukt Chand took to twitter on Friday August 13, 2021 to announce his retirement from Indian cricket. He wrote a lengthy statement which read “after thinking for a while, I still could not find a perfect beginning to this letter. Writing this down brings out mixed emotions in me. I don’t know how I should be feeling cause honestly I am still figuring it out. The very thought of not being able to represent my country again literally stops my heartbeat for a while. I have grown up playing cricket one and only dream of playing for India. The love for this game has been very pure for me and I am grateful to have achieved a few milestones along the way. From getting up early in the morning for training, scheduling my entire day around cricket and trying to find ways to become a better player has been my drive and motivation and still keeps me going as the journey is still halfway through.
I can proudly look back at my cricketing journey in India and I feel so blessed to have made a mark in a cricket-frenzied nation. Big thanks to BCCI for giving cricketers like me a platform to express and showcase our skills through so many camps, age group and senior board tournaments and the IPL. Definitely the hallmark of the biggest board in the world.
Chand looks back at his under-19 triumph as he bids goodbye to Indian cricket –
The statement on twitter also spoke about his journey and winning the under 19 world cup and all the memories it got him. He also wrote about leading India A in many series and winning a few trophies along the way. In the final part of the tweet as he wished goodbye to Indian cricket he also alluded to the fact that opportunities were hard to come by. “lastly I would like to say that things have not been as smooth in the last few years and opportunities have been denied. 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 with fond memories bid adieu to BCCI and seek better opportunities around the world.
A sad end to a promising career –
Unmukt Chand on his part isnt wrong to think he wasn’t afforded chances. In the IPL he deserved better he could have got a better deal and a bit more reassurances. On his part though he can look back with a lot of sadness and ask himself if he took the chances he got. Sure there were sparks but those aren’t enough to make it to the top. You need consistency and you need hard work and sadly the consistency was missing.
Just like the Advertisement showed Chand’s attempted efforts to grab the cold drink being put through a stern test. His path to the top too came with stern tests and sadly he just couldn’t make it.