Former Indian Under 19 captain Unmukt Chand in an interview revealed how Lasith Malinga dismissed him in his very first IPL match. The incident happened on 10 April 2011 at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. Chand was only 18 when he opened the innings for Delhi Daredevils alongside Virender Sehwag against Mumbai Indians. For a teenager making his IPL debut he said even a crowd of around 500 people from his school felt huge. Malinga bowled the opening over and Chand managed to defend his first delivery. He tried to attack the next one but was bowled, ending his IPL debut after just two balls. The occasion, the pressure and the presence of several international stars proved difficult for the young batsman.
“My first IPL game at Kotla was overwhelming. Around 500 people were in the stands, including many from my school. Malinga bowled the first ball, and I was so nervous that I could barely understand what was happening. I defended the first ball, swung at the next and got bowled. I was very young and not mentally ready for that pressure. A year earlier, I was sitting in the stands watching Sachin Tendulkar, my idol, and dreaming of playing. The next year, I was playing against him," Chand said in an old interview with The Lallantop.
Unmukt Chand later admitted that he was not mentally prepared for the jump from school and domestic cricket to the IPL. A year before that match he had been in the stands watching Tendulkar, the player he idolised. Now, he was sharing the field with him and he described it as a great experience.
From India Under-19 captain to playing cricket in the USA
Unmukt Chand became a popular player in Indian cricket when he captained India Under-19 to the 2012 ICC Under-19 World Cup title in Australia. In the final against Australia in Townsville, he scored an unbeaten 111 off 130 balls to help India win the title. He finished the tournament with 246 runs in six matches at an average of 49.20 and was named Player of the Match in the final. His performances also led to comparisons with Virat Kohli who was also an India Under-19 World Cup-winning captain in 2008.
Chand made his IPL debut in 2011 with Delhi Daredevils. He went on to play 21 matches across six seasons for Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, scoring 300 runs at an average of 15, with a highest score of 58. He was also part of the Mumbai Indians squad that won the IPL title in 2015. In domestic cricket, Chand played for Delhi before later going to Uttarakhand. He featured in 67 first-class matches, scoring 3,379 runs at an average of 31.57, while his returns in List A cricket were better.
However, opportunities at the highest level became harder to come by. In August 2021, at the age of 28, Chand retired from Indian cricket and moved to the United States. He joined Silicon Valley Strikers in Minor League Cricket and had an immediate impact where he finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 612 runs in 2021 and helped the team win the championship. He later became the first Indian male cricketer to play in Australia's Big Bash League when he represented Melbourne Renegades. He also played for Chattogram Challengers in the Bangladesh Premier League and joined Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.
