11 Facts about Unmukt Chand: The future of Indian cricket

Anyone in the right frame of mind will certainly agree that Unmukt Chand is the future of Indian cricket. An aggressive batsman, the 23-year old is certainly a shining light when the future of cricket in general terms is brought up. His popularity rose leaps and bounds when he led the Indian colts to an unlikely U19 World Cup win down under. Although the numbers haven’t always been on his side, Unmukt Chand has always had the talent and the exuberance of youth on his side. That said, here are a few interesting facts about the 23-year old opening batsman.

1. Birth:

Unmukt Bharat Chand Thakur was born on the 26th of March 1993 at Delhi, India.

2. Denying the Aussies:

Despite claiming six centuries in U19 cricket, Unmukt Chand’s most important innings came at the Tony Ireland Stadium. It was a new stadium, no buzz, nothing really special about it, until of course Unmukt Chand graced it with his towering presence. He slammed an unbeaten 110 as the Indians denied Will Bosisto’s men the U19 World Cup.

3. Ian Chappel’s pick:

Former Australian skipper Ian Chappel became a fan of the 23-year old following his exploits in the U19 World Cup. In an article, Chappel wrote: “The other U-19 player in that category is the India captain Unmukt Chand. He’s a very talented batsman and should also be consistently plying his trade at a higher level. Both Harmeet and Chand have played first-class cricket but it isn’t doing their games any good to participate in a U-19 World Cup even if it does help India win the trophy. There’s always a temptation to win another trophy but it mustn’t be done at the cost of a young player’s development. Rodney (Marsh) was right. Players must be chosen for their skill level, not their age.”

4. Sky is the limit:

Unmukt Chand penned his experience as U19 skipper and tournament winner in a book. The book is titled – “Sky is the Limit”. It was released shortly after the conclusion of the tournament.

5. A Lil Virat Kohli of sorts:

Chand has often been compared to his Delhi compatriot Virat Kohli. It is also evident that the pair of them have the same batting style and technique. Kohli captained India during their title-winning season in 2008.

6. A free-spirited wordsmith:

Chand is also an interesting personality off the field, maintaining a regular diary and reading dictionaries in his spare time.

7. Batting style:

An average torso on his legs, Chand stood at slightly over 5-and-a-half feet above the ground. However, each time the ball struck his bat, it packed a punch. It was evident that he had massive forearms. Therefore, he is an aggressive right-hander, he tends to go for his shots early.

8. The Brett Lee record:

Unmukt Chand was drafted into the Delhi Daredevils squad in the 2013 season. He was cleaned up by Brett Lee in his first ever delivery faced, thus making it a bad record for Chand in the IPL.

9. Ranji Trophy accolades:

The following are the awards won by Unmukt Chand.

• Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year for 2011-12
• CEAT Indian youngster of the year 2012

10. IPL career:

Unmukt Chand’s IPL career has been nowhere near the form he exhibited during the U19 World Cup. He was dropped for the last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He’s played a total of 7 matches scoring only 61 runs in total. He has been bought by the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 65 lakhs during the IPL 7 Auction. He was picked for the Mumbai Indians in the 2015 season and spent most of the season on the sidelines due to indifferent performances.

11. The Delhi batsmen production line:

Unmukt Chand is part of a long list of batsmen to be produced by Delhi. He joins the elite group of batsmen that includes Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan.