‘Knew my story could be different,’: Unmukt Chand on not attaining Virat Kohli-like success

At one time, Unmukt Chand was talked about as the Next Big Thing of Indian cricket. After leading India to their third Under-19 World Cup win in 2012, comparisons between Unmukt and Virat Kohli started doing the rounds, with people suggesting that the youngster is likely to climb the same ladder of success Kohli has since he led India to a U19 WC win in 2008.

In fact, Ian Chappell in his column had mentioned how he wanted Chand to straightaway play for the Indian team and that him playing domestic cricket would take him two steps down. However, Chand’s story since has been well-documented as he remains the only Indian Under19 World Cup winning captain to not play a single game for the senior men’s team.

However, not getting an India cap yet has not left Chand disturbed, and the batsman admits that he continues to learn from his experiences.

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“Of course, for any Under-19 player, the World Cup is the most important thing. The hard work of so many years – from Junior cricket to Under-16 and so on, it’s like a summit for any junior cricketer to reach there and definitely. Just like winning the World Cup is a dream, similarly, lifting the Under-19 World Cup is also one,” Chand told former India batsman Aakash Chopra on his YouTube Channel.

“Four years ago, I had seen Virat bhaiya leading the side and winning the cup, so since it was fresh in the memory its impact was big. I knew stories could be different. It’s not like you always automatically play for India but for me it was more important to win the Under-19 World Cup.”

In the final against Australia, Chand led from the front and scored a match-winning 111 to be named the Man of the Match. He returned home to a hero’s welcome. He became a regular feature for India A and even led the team to wins against New Zealand A in 2013, Bangladesh A two years later and in a triangular series. But despite all those accolades, a national call-up eluded him.

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“It’s not like I didn’t get opportunities after the win. I played for India A and I was captaining the team till 2016 as well. I was getting runs. A few times I was told ‘just be ready, we’ll be picking you’. But that’s ok. To say that had I played, I would have done this and that isn’t logical. The most important is what happened and what I could have learnt,” Chand said.

Luck and timing were factors in how his career transpired, Chand reckons. When the runs were coming thick and fast, the Indian team and its openers were pretty much balanced; whereas the opportunity for Chand to make his case arrived, the runs went missing. Yet, at 26, Chand remains upbeat and is eager to look ahead.

“At times it’s like you’re aware that the Indian cricket team is about combinations. I remember very clearly that when things were going well with me, Viru bhaiya and Gautam bhaiya used to open for India. Then there was a time when there was a dearth of good openers, and during that period, my form was under a slump. Those things are also important,” Chand said.

“I take it in my stride. I have had many good experiences and even though that couldn’t materialise into getting an India cap, it’s a journey. I’ll be able to sum it better the day I finish with my cricket.”