24-years old Unmukt Chand, who was the skipper of India U-19 cricket team for 2012 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup that had won by the Indian team, showed his frustration for getting drop from the Delhi squad despite performing well. He feels that he became the scapegoat of Delhi’s petty politics.
Recently, the right-handed batsman Unmukt Chand told TOI, “Getting dropped from Delhi was the biggest disappointment of my life. I became the scapegoat of petty politics in the team. I was playing a T20 zonal match in Mumbai two years back when I heard the news of getting axed from the one-day side. I was leading India A in a couple of months before that and was the highest scorer there. I had been the top run-getter for Delhi the previous season, and I was dropped. That was shocking.”
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Chand felt huge disappointment after he was dropped from the Delhi side just before the 2018 IPL Auction. He feels that it send a wrong message to the franchises and that’s the reason he remained unsold while he was very desperate to play the IPL.
Elaborating that situation, Chand quoted, “I was retained by MI last year but because I didn’t get to play matches in the previous year, I decided to get released from the squad to find a team where I could play, and not sit out, even at base price. Playing is more important than money. It was a hard decision and a big risk too, but I opted out. Unfortunately, I was dropped from the Delhi side four days before the auction, and I’m sure it didn’t send the right signal to the franchisees. I wasn’t picked.”
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When Chand was asked if he had a thought to play for another state or not, he revealed, “Yes, I have thought about it. I have been forced to think about it. However, things are still not concrete.”
The right-handed batsman also commented, “I had lived my biggest fear of getting dropped from the Delhi Ranji team, and thus overcame the fear by only realising the next day that it was a mental barrier and nothing else. I went beyond the fear. It liberated me.”
However, Chand has shown a superb form with the bat in the recently List A matches. Featuring in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Deodhar Trophy of this season, Chand played total 8 matches where he scored 404 runs with the average of 50.50. He had one century and three half-century knocks in those recent List A tournaments.
Chand also gives the advice to the young cricketers who have recently won the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup. He said, “Don’t rush. Keep working on the game. Be hard on yourself but don’t forget to love yourself.”
