'I felt like my clothes are ripped apart' - Unmukt Chand on losing IPL contract, getting removed from India A and Delhi squad

Over the years, many young U19 starlets have paved their way to the national side. However, there have also been many players who tapered down in their pursuit to make it big at the international stage.

Unmukt Chand was one such name which was touted as the ‘next big thing’ in Indian cricket. Chand led India to the victory in 2012 U19 World Cup and smashed an impressive ton in the final against Australia. The Delhi batsman was all over the news and he was even compared with the likes of Virat Kohli. However, fate had planned something else for the swashbuckling opener.

Following the U19 World Cup triumph, Chand went on to lead India A side as well. Chand was on his way to bask in glory but everything collapsed like a stack of cards in 2016. After getting dropped from Delhi’s one-day team, Chand also lost his IPL contract. To plunge his woes, Chand eventually lost his place from the India A side too.

In a recent conversation with former India opener Aakash Chopra, Unmukt Chand has opened up on the series of unfortunate episodes which hampered his cricketing journey. A series of unfortunate events left Chand shocked and according to him, it was like his clothes have been ripped off.

“The biggest shock for me came when I was dropped from the one-day team of Delhi. I was captaining India A then (2016), scoring runs, playing zonal T20 Cricket in Mumbai and they dropped me from one-day squad only.

I was playing with Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir, the selectors told me that we are making you preparing you for something else and they have dropped you from the Delhi squad,” revealed Chand.

Furthermore, Chand also opened up on losing his IPL contract. He revealed that he had planned to leave Mumbai Indians to get more game time under his belt. Someone advised him to leave MI and “come to them” but Chand was left without a team in the subsequent IPL auction.

I talked to someone and he told me to leave MI: Unmkukt Chand

“I got dropped and got a chance after Delhi lost its first 3 matches. I got to play in the 5th and 6th match where I scored 75 and 80 runs to get Man-of-The-Match awards on both the occasions.

Now, because I had not played many matches, I did not have many runs and so was not selected for India A also. That was for the first time in 2017 that I did not get to represent India A. That was also the time when I got dropped from the IPL,” said Chand.

“It’s a funny story again. I was in Mumbai Indians and they had retained me It was such a big team that I was not getting any chance to play. I wanted to go to a side where at least I get matches to play. I talked to someone and he told me to leave MI and come to them. I just wanted to play and it was not about money. I wanted to play even if I was being picked at my base price.

“Then during the action, no one picked me. It suddenly stood in my face that there was suddenly no IPL, Delhi cricket. It was the biggest shock for me. I felt like my clothes are ripped apart. Suddenly from everywhere to nowhere. I woke up after 3-4 days and went to practice,” he revealed.

27-year-old Chand left Delhi state team in 2019 and moved to Uttarakhand to rejuvenate his career. He was even assigned the captaincy of the side. However, as fate would have it, Chand was removed from the position after a series of losses.