Unmukt Chand

Unmukt Chand (born 26 March 1993) is a former Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed top order batsman who currently plays for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket, and the Melbourne Renegades in Australia's Big Bash League. He has played for Delhi and Uttarakhand in Indian domestic cricket tournaments,[1] the Mumbai Indians & the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, and the India Under-19 cricket team, who he captained to victory in the 2012 U-19 Cricket World Cup. In August 2021, Chand announced his retirement from playing cricket in India.[2][3][4]

Unmukt Chand
Personal information
Full name
Unmukt Chand Thakur
Born (1993-03-26) 26 March 1993
New Delhi, India
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm off break
RoleBatsman
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2010–2018Delhi
2011–2013Delhi Daredevils (squad no. 9)
2010-2013North Zone
2014Rajasthan Royals
2015–2016Mumbai Indians (squad no. 15)
2019–2020Uttarakhand
2021-presentSilicon Valley Strikers (squad no. 9)
2021-22Melbourne Renegades (squad no. 9)
2023Chattogram Challengers
2023-presentLos Angeles Knight Riders
Career statistics
Competition FC List A T20
Matches 67 120 79
Runs scored 3,379 4,505 1,600
Batting average 31.57 41.33 22.22
100s/50s 8/16 7/32 3/5
Top score 151 127 125
Balls bowled 151 192 –
Wickets 1 6 –
Bowling average 98.00 37.16 –
5 wickets in innings 0 0 –
10 wickets in match 0 0 –
Best bowling 1/12 3/59 –
Catches/stumpings 77/0 52/4 46/3
Source: Cricinfo, 22 October 2022

Early life

Unmukt Chand was born in a Kumauni Rajput family to Bharat Chand Thakur and Rajeshwari Chand, who were both teachers. He is originally from Pithoragarh (Siltham) District of Uttarakhand.[5] He moved from DPS Noida to Modern School, Barakhamba Road in the 9th standard.[6]

Career

Early career

Unmukt Chand scored 499 runs during his first stint with the Delhi U-19 team. The 499 runs include 2 centuries and 1 half-century. His outstanding performance in the U-19s gave him a place in the Delhi senior team. He scored 151 runs on a seaming track against a seasoned Railways attack in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy. That year he also scored two half-centuries against Mumbai and Saurashtra. He scored 400 runs in five matches. He played in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and the Cooch Behar Trophy at the junior level.

Captaincy

Unmukt Chand was named the captain of the Delhi U-19 team[7] and the North Zone U-19 team. He then went on to become the captain of the India Under-19 cricket team for the quadrangular series that was held in Vishakhapatnam, India. The quadrangular series included the U-19 teams from India, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia. He scored an unbeaten 122 against Sri Lanka and two fifties against Australia and West Indies.[8] He ended the tournament with 336 runs from seven outings, just one behind Australia's Cameron Bancroft. He also participated in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy later that season. Under his captaincy, India also won the U-19 World Cup in Australia.[9]

In April 2012, India U-19 cricket team played a quadrangular series in Australia involving the hosts, along with England and New Zealand. Batting at three, Chand scored an impressive 94 against England in the semi-final to help India win the match by 63 runs. He followed it up with a blistering century against Australia in the final – an unbeaten 112, which included 9 fours and 6 sixes – to take India to an emphatic 7-wicket victory. India won the tournament under Chand's captaincy, who ended with 281 runs from 5 matches, only six runs short of the tournament's highest run-getter Daniel Bell-Drummond.

In June 2012, playing in the ACC Under-19s Asia Cup, Chand rose to the occasion once again with 116 against Sri Lanka in the semi-final, before scoring 121 against Pakistan in the final. He won the Man of the Match award in both games. He was the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 286 runs from 3 matches.

On 26 August 2012, Chand led the India U-19s to victory in the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Australia. His counterpart William Bosisto's half-century had rescued Australia from 38 for 4 to a score of 225 in the final, but Chand's 130-run stand with Smit Patel ensured India won with more than two overs to spare, with Chand scoring a captain's knock of 111* in 130 balls which consisted of 6 sixes and 7 fours to defeat Australia.[10]

On 3 March 2013, Chand scored 116 for Delhi in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Assam to show his knack for scoring big hundreds in tournament finals. Delhi went on to win the game by 95 runs and the title for the first time.

IPL career

Unmukt made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2012 and got clean bowled for a first ball duck by Brett Lee in the season opener against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was purchased by the Rajasthan Royals during the IPL 7 Auction. He was picked up by the Mumbai Indians in the 2015 season, where he won his first IPL title, despite not playing in most of the games.[1]

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2012–13
Main article: 2012–13 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Unmukt scored 321 runs at an average of 35.66 with a strike rate reaching 140 for Delhi, where was the highest run-scorer. He scored back-to-back centuries, first against Kerala where he scored 105 off 67 balls, and then against Gujarat, scoring 125 off just 63 deliveries. Delhi was upset by Odisha in the semi-finals, where he failed to score.

Minor League Cricket

Unmukt made his MiLC debut on 14 August 2021, where he was bowled for naught off 3 deliveries.[11] Unmukt topped the runs scorers list for 2021 in the competition with 612 runs from 16 innings as he led his team, the Silicon Valley Strikers, to the championship title.[12] He transferred over to the Atlanta Lightning for the 2023 season.[13]

Big Bash League

Unmukt made his BBL debut for the Melbourne Renegades on 18 January 2022, becoming the first Indian male to play in the Big Bash.[14]

Major League Cricket

Unmukt was signed by the Los Angeles Knight Riders in the player draft, ahead of the inaugural Major League Cricket season.

Bangladesh Premier League

In November 2022, Ummukt was selected to play for the Chattogram Challengers, following the players' draft for the 2022–23 Bangladesh Premier League.[15] He will be the first Indian to feature in the Bangladesh Premier League.[16][17]

Commentary

Unmukt started commentating during the 2020 U-19 Cricket World Cup finals.[18] He has also commentated for Star Sports 1 Hindi, covering the Caribbean Premier League.[19]

Honours and awards
  • 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup winning captain
  • 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup Final Man of the Match
  • Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year for 2011–12
  • CEAT Indian youngster of the year 2012
  • 2015 IPL title with Mumbai Indians
  • 2021 Minor Cricket League USA winning captain, also scoring the most runs in the competition

Books

Chand has penned his memories of the U19 WC into a book, The Sky is the Limit (2013). The book chronicles Unmukt's rise as a cricketer, from his childhood days to the World Cup victory and how he came to represent his country, lead his team to victory - complete with a captain's match-winning knock - and bring home the coveted trophy. The victory was India U-19 team's first World Cup win outside Asia.[6] Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and Sanjay Manjrekar wrote forewords for the book.

References
  1. "Unmukt Chand Player Profile". ESPN Cricinfo.
  2. "World Cup winning U19 India captain Unmukt Chand announces retirement". The Times of India. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  3. "Unmukt Chand retires from Indian cricket at the age of 28". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. "India's U-19 World Cup winning captain Unmukt Chand retires from Indian cricket; to play for another country". SportsTiger. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  5. "'I hope I'll have my feet on the ground and not fly off'". Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  6. "Reference: My Journey to the World Cup: Unmukt Chand's New Book To Be Launched 30 Nov". Learning and Creativity. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  7. TNN (9 October 2011). "Unmukt Chand to lead ACA Under-19 team". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  8. DNA Correspondent (10 October 2011). "India beat Sri Lanka to win Quadrangular Under-19 Series". DNA. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  9. "Unmukt Chand- All you need to know about former India U-19 World Cup winning captain". SportsTiger. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  10. India U-19 team wins the third World Cup under the captaincy of Unmukt Chand
  11. "Unmukt Chand inks multi-year deal with Major League Cricket". Hindustan Times. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  12. "'Liberated' Indian star on the verge of BBL history". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  13. Patel, Smit (11 August 2023). "Minor League Cricket Season 3 gets underway after MLC's success". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  14. "Unmukt Chand becomes first Indian to play in a Big Bash League | Sports-Games". Devdiscourse. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  15. "After BBL, Unmukt Chand set for BPL stint". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  16. "Unmukt Chand roped in by Chattogram Challengers in BPL draft". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  17. "Unmukt Chand registers for Bangladesh Premier League 2023 draft: One of the best tournaments in world". India Today. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  18. "Unmukt Chand Turns Commentator for IND vs BAN U19 CWC 2020 Final, Fans React After Listening to the Victorious 2012 U19 World Cup Captain | 🏏 LatestLY". LatestLY. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  19. "Unmukt Chand Is All Set For Hindi Commentary in English Premier League". Cricket Socials. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
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