Unmukt Chand, the captain of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team, was not included in the USA roster for the just concluded T20 World Cup 2024. Recently, the right-handed hitter shared his reaction to the rejection.
After quitting Indian cricket in 2021, Chand relocated to the United States. The graceful hitter made this difficult choice after failing to gain a spot in the senior Indian team despite representing multiple teams in the Indian Premier League. Chand moved to the USA in order to fulfil his goal of playing cricket for his country; in March, he was granted permission to play for them. He was not included in the 15-man team for the T20 World Cup, which the USA and the West Indies co-hosted.
Milind Kumar and Harmeet Singh, Chand’s colleagues, were selected, but he was forced to watch from the sidelines as Aaron Jones and company put on a brave performance at the main event. The 31-year-old didn’t impress the selectors despite his strong performance in Minor League Cricket (MiLC) and T20 competitions.
“It was not the best place to be. Since this was what I had personally dreamed of for the previous three years. It was obviously quite shocking. And it took me some time to sort of accept it,” Chand was cited by Cricbuzz.
“It’s never easy for a player to have their one objective, which has motivated them for the past three years, not come to pass after losing everything back home in India. Thus, it is challenging. I will not reveal which occurred first. However, it was challenging. For a while, I wasn’t my best self,” he said.
It never stops devouring you from the inside out: Unmukt Chand
Unmukt Chand also acknowledged that he found it extremely difficult to cope with being left out. He trained in Maharashtra during the World Cup under his childhood coach, and he recently returned to the United States to play Major League Cricket (MLC) with the Los Angeles Knight Riders.
“It’s basically a sucker, and that was a really personal struggle. It never stops sucking you from the inside out. The sensation would stay with me for a day, then fade and then return. I would experience the reality in stages. You will inevitably grow better if you continue through it. One day you’ll look back and say, “That didn’t happen.” I’m not even considering it,” Chand continued.
The Delhi native was dismissed for a five-ball duck in LAKR’s next match against the San Francisco Unicorns after scoring a match-winning 68 off 45 balls in the team’s opening game against the Texas Super Kings.
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