Unmukt Chand leaves Delhi cricket with a heartfelt message; to captain Uttarakhand in upcoming season

One of the most unfulfilled potentials in Indian domestic cricket, Delhi’s Unmukt Chand has made a decision that has left many of his fans shocked and sad. The 2012 U19 World Cup-winning Indian captain Chand, has decided to move on from his Delhi roots and look for greener pastures, as the new domestic season approaches.

The 26-year-old Chand was left out from the recently declared list of 50 probables for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy by Delhi District Cricket Association, and this probably forced him to move to Uttarakhand as a guest player, where he is slated to take over the captaincy from Rajat Bhatia for the 2019-20 season. The right-hander cricketer had made his List A debut for Delhi at the age of 16 and was once a prominent figure in the team.

Dwindling form, losing the place in the side and signing up for a new team

Unmukt Chand was once called the next big thing in Indian cricket and was compared with his teammate in Delhi, Virat Kohli, as both won the U19 World Cup and Kohli then made his debut for India shortly, getting an IPL contract and has become perhaps the greatest modern batsman of this era. Chand too got an IPL deal and was a regular captain of the India A sides, but things unraveled quickly for him.

Chand posted an emotional message for his fans on Twitter and thanked everyone at DDCA for support and wished great success for the team in coming time.

.@BCCI @delhi_cricket pic.twitter.com/Zo0CmZAgM2

— Unmukt Chand (@UnmuktChand9) September 3, 2019

After captaining Delhi for two Ranji fixtures in 2016, when Gambhir was playing for the Indian team, Chand’s form dwindled badly. He lost his place in playing XI next season and in the 2018-19 season, Delhi opted for Hiten Dalal as the opener with Gambhir, meaning that the team management had moved on from Chand. He was also out of an IPL deal since 2017 and a couple of days before the auction that year was dropped from Vijay Hazare trophy squad as well.

He made a comeback in 2018/19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 26-year-old scored 253 runs at 25.30 in 10 innings. Chand also last appeared for India A side in 2015 against Bangladesh A in a team flooded with players like Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, and Mayank Agarwal. Chand will now lead Uttarakhand in Ranji Trophy, who are yet to sign the other two professionals.