India's Unmukt Chand announces retirement; ex-U-19 World Cup winner likely to play for US

Unmukt Chand, the 2012 U-19 World Cup-winning Captain of India retired from Cricket in India after a tough past few years in his career. The stylish right-handed batsman led India U-19 from the front to their World Cup victory and was immediately labelled as the next big thing in Indian Cricket. However, things did not go as planned for him, as his form lacked consistency. He decided to let go of his dream to play for the Indian team by putting out a letter on his social media handles on Friday.

Blessed to have made a mark in a cricket-frenzied nation: Unmukt Chand

Unmukt, in the letter, wrote that he had grown up with the dream of playing cricket for India at the highest level, expressing gratitude towards the limited chances he got. Looking back at his cricketing journey, he expressed that he is blessed to have made a mark in a cricket-frenzied nation. He mentioned that winning the U-19 World Cup for India is one of the biggest achievements of his life. 

The 28-year-old cricketer said that he is thankful to the BCCI for giving cricketers like him, the chance to showcase their skills through the camps, age group, senior board tournaments, and the IPL. He also led the India-A side on few occasions. He added that the DDCA played an important role in his career by giving him the opportunity, early on his career to play with the stalwarts of Indian and Delhi cricket. He further thanked all his teammates and supporters for carrying him in their hearts.

Take a look at Unmukt's full letter here-

Unmukt rose to fame overnight following his unbeaten knock of 111 runs in the U-19 World Cup finals against Australia on August 26, 2012. Earlier in May this year, it was highly speculated that Unmukt would join his U-19 teammate Smit Patel, who announced his retirement and went to play in the Minor League Cricket in the United States. However, he had denied the speculations and rumours back then. Meanwhile, Smit Patel joined the Manhattan Yorkers and went on to score an unbeaten 99 in his captaincy debut in the US. The Minor League Cricket 2021 also features famous International players like Sami Aslam (Golden State Grizzlies), Corey Anderson (Irvin Mustangs), and Shehan Jayasuriya.

(Image Source: PTI)