Unmukt Chand, the Under-19 World Cup winning captain and former Mumbai Indians batsman for Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, announced his retirement from Indian cricket on Friday. The 28-year-old shared a lengthy note on Twitter, in which he confirmed that he is retiring from Indian cricket but is ready to take advantage of opportunities across the world.
He was one of the main players who helped India win the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 and scored an unbeaten century with 6 sixes and 7 fours in the final. Soon after, Unmukt became an India A regular and also took over as India A’s captain and remained at the helm till 2015.
In his series of tweets, Unmukt Chand also thanked BCCI and DDCA for giving them a platform to showcase their skills. He also wrote, “Cricket is a universal sport and even though the means may change, the end goal is still the same – to play cricket at the highest level.”
Unmukt Chand made his domestic debut with Delhi in 2010 and played for the team for 8 seasons. He was also made the captain of the team, however, he was dropped from the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad in 2017 and has since become an irregular member of the team.
T1- On to the next innings of my life #JaiHind🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/fEEJ9xOdlt
— Unmukt Chand (@UnmuktChand9) August 13, 2021
In 2019, the top-order batsman moved to Uttarakhand, but it ultimately did not work out and he was forced to move back to Delhi.
At one point, he made it to the 30-man squad for the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and the 30-man squad for the 2014 T20 World Cup, but India could not earn the call-up.
Now, the 28-year-old ends his ‘Indian cricket’ career with 3379 runs in first-class cricket, 4505 runs in List A cricket and 1565 runs in T20s.
A few months back, Chand had denied reports that he was going to the US to continue his cricket there, recently claimed by former Pakistan cricketer Sami Aslam. Responding to this, Chand had said that he had gone to the USA on a ‘vacation’ trip.
Although he admitted to going for a few practice sessions. “I went to the USA to visit my relatives, and of course when I got there, I went for a bat or two – just to practice. I went to training sessions just because I came here, but I have not done anything like signing anything in USA,” Chand told news media.