The ICC Under-19 World Cup 2012 winning captain was once considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket.
Unmukt Chand, who was once considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket after leading India to glory in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2012, unfortunately drifted out of contention for the national squad. The 32-year-old was following the steps of a young Virat Kohli, who had also captained the national team to the ICC Under-19 World Cup victory in 2008. But eventually, the two players turned out to have very contrasting career paths.
While the former retired from Indian cricket and shifted to the United States of America (USA) in 2021 in search of opportunities, the latter ruled for a decade and some more in every format of the game and established himself as the modern-day great with a heap of records to his name. However, the current USA batter has recently opened up on his experience of meeting the most successful Indian captain, MS Dhoni, for the first time.
The batter spoke about how easily Captain Cool had made a strong bond with the youngster in such a short period of time. This made him realise how Dhoni manages the players so well on the field. Notably, the wicketkeeper-batter is regarded as one of the best captains in history, winning three major ICC titles for India, which include the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013.
“I admired him like anything. I was meeting him for the first time as a youngster, I sat five minutes with him and he made me open up so much that I felt like I could go tell him my deepest secrets. This is the level of security that he gives to people. Then I could relate as to why people who played with him played for India and performed well,” he stated on a YouTube Video.
The former Delhi player had also met him a couple of times more, during the domestic matches against Jharkhand. Chand acknowledged that the gloveman was always open to chat with the youngsters, helping them to better their skills, both on and off the field.
“I met him quite a few times after that as well. When he was playing for Jharkhand, at times we had games with them for Delhi. On and off, I met him many times as well. He is always very warm and welcoming. You are not skeptical of going to him. He is very free and open that way,” added Chand.
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Unfortunately, the player never got an opportunity to make his debut for the national team. After moving to the USA, Chand is currently a regular figure in the country’s popular T20 tournament, the Major League Cricket (MLC), since 2023. The batter has scored a total of 528 runs in 19 matches across three seasons of the 20-over league so far, while playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) sister franchise, Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR).
Apart from participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils), Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Mumbai Indians (MI), he has also featured in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia for the Melbourne Renegades and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) for the Chattogram Challengers.
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