MLC 2025: Unmukt Chand is Los Angeles Knight Riders' lone bright spot, but will USA Cricket notice?
Unmukt Chand (Pic credit: LAKR)
"Cricket is a universal game and even though the means might change, the end goal is still the same - to play cricket at the highest level," Chand had written in his retirement post in 2021.
Unmukt Chand
has endured one too many swings of misfortune in his cricketing sojourn. From being India's Under-19 World Cup-winning captain in 2012 to retiring from Indian cricket at the age of 28, the right-handed batter has finally found his feet in his home away from home.
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To chase the universal game, the Delhi boy relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2021, with a dream to play cricket for the US national team.
It's been four years, and he is yet to get that maiden call from USA Cricket.
"Moving to the USA was something like a second chance for me. My one and only goal when I left for the USA was to play for the national team," he had told TimesofIndia.com before the third edition of the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC).
MLC 2025: Unmukt Chand's road to redemption in America
After doing well in the Minor League Cricket, a national T20 competition in the United States, he was hoping to get picked for the 2024 T20 World Cup, held in the US and the Caribbean, but he was not selected.
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"The World Cup was something which was very important. And that's how I sort of timed my retirement from India also," he had said.
Unmukt's numbers in the first two editions of the MLC, where he plays for Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR), were not good enough. In the first season, he managed only 68 runs in four outings, and in the following season, he scored 158 runs in six matches.
Poll
Do you think Unmukt Chand will eventually get selected for the US national cricket team?
Yes, definitely
No, unlikely
However, in the 2025 MLC, Unmukt has found his rhythm.
He is LAKR's sole bright spot as the team is currently languishing at the bottom of the points table. With 243 runs in seven matches, Unmukt is currently placed sixth in the list of top run-getters.
Will this be enough to get him into the US side? The 32-year-old definitely knows what he needs to do.
"Whenever I have not got selected, performance was the only way you come back in. So I can only think along those lines," he said.
"You know, as a cricketer, my lines are always very straight: I want to keep working hard, and keep improving my skills, and keep making sure that whenever I get the opportunity I go there and perform.
"My only way to get back is to let my bat keep talking," he would say.
LAKR have three games left this season and they are mathematically out of the playoffs race. But for Unmukt, these matches will be a chance to finish the season on a high in his quest for redemption.
From being touted as a prodigious talent to trying to find his feet in a different country, it has been chaotic for Unmukt, but this is his only way to live his dream.
"I have grown up with this mindset and mentality that I just want to keep getting better every day. The whole fight is with me. I want to be a better version of myself. That is something which has been a very strong fundamental thing inside my head," he said.
LA Knight Riders: All You Need to Know | MLC 2025 Squad, Stars & Fixtures
"I feel that the journey is still ongoing. I still have a number of years left with me. I will keep trying my best. I will keep doing my best. You never know, man, where life takes you," he added.
Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
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