Last domestic season was a merry go round for the former Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand. After leading Delhi in two of the Ranji Trophy games in absence of Gautam Gambhir, he was dropped for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, only to be recalled for the last two games where he scored to back to back half-centuries on his comeback.
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Apart from being dropped, there was one more upset for him, as he went unsold in the IPL auction 2017. Unmukt is in the list of one of the youngest players to play in IPL and it was never expected that a time will come when he would find no buyers. The 24-year old player has immense talent but he has failed to grab the chances.
During the time when there was no domestic cricket during IPL, Unmukt went to England to play club cricket for Colne Cricket Club, where he spent few months and learned a lot. Coming fresh from there, Unmukt has termed that stint as one of the fascinating experience,
“Playing in small towns where people come and fill up those lovely little grounds was a fascinating experience. Cricket is in the air in England. You feel it. The grounds, the pitches, the players all contribute to bringing the best out of you. I was playing for a club which was not in the top bracket but I enjoyed the responsibility. They value performances, and it served my purpose of gaining the experience of playing in different conditions,” Unmukt Chand told The Hindu.
He though mentioned that the teams were not of the high bracket but the conditions in England would have challenged him, which are totally opposite to here in India. This was probably a life changing experience for a player who was dropped from his state side.
BCCI had already announced the fixtures for the upcoming season and pink ball Duleep Trophy will mark a start to the half a year long domestic tourney. For Unmukt, the challenge will start on October 6, when the 83rd edition of Ranji Trophy will kick off. It will be a chance for him to score well in the tournament and bid for a spot in the national side.
As said, he has not been in best of form but the challenge in England might have taught him a lot and there can be a case when he might find easy to play here in India, after club experience in England.
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Along with him, the upcoming season will also be an opportunity for discarded India batsman Gautam Gambhir to bid for a comeback. He still has chances left, as Indian opening combination in Test cricket is still not fixed due to a number of injuries to the openers in past two years.
Good performances in the Ranji Trophy can surely bring him to the eyes of national selectors and he can once again become backup for regular openers.
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