New Delhi: Unmukt Chand, India's 2012 Under-19 World Cup-winning captain on Friday announced his retirement from Indian cricket at the age of 28.
''I don’t know how I should be feeling cause honestly, I am still figuring it out. The very thought of not being able to represent my country again literally stops my heartbeat for a while,'' he wrote in a heartfelt post.
Chand came into the limelight after scoring an unbeaten knock of 111 in the final of the 2012 World Cup.
The talented cricketer made his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi while still in school and hit his maiden first-class century - 151, his best - in his fourth game.
He then made his IPL debut at 18, and while Chand failed to impress in the IPL (for Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals), he became a regular for India A and led them to victories against New Zealand A in 2013 and Bangladesh A in 2015.
The right-handed batsman was also the part of the 30-member squad for the 2013 Champions Trophy and 2014 T20 World Cup but he couldn’t earn an India call-up.
"Personally there have been quite a few glorious moments in my cricketing journey in India. Winning the U-19 World cup for India is one of the biggest moments of my life. It was a special feeling to lift the cup as a captain and bring smiles to so many Indians across the world.
I can never forget that feeling. Also, leading India A on numerous occasions and winning various bilateral and tri-series are etched in my memory forever,'' he said.
In 2016, he was dropped from the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy Delhi squad. In 2019-20, he shifted to play for Uttarakhand as a professional but he scored just 195 runs in seven matches.
Chand played 67 first-class games, scoring 3379 runs at an average of 31.57. He fared better in List A cricket, where he scored 4505 runs at an average of 41.33 in 120 outings. In T20s, he had 1565 runs at an average of 22.35 and a strike rate of 116.09 in 77 games. (UNI)