Mumbai: Since bidding adieu to his U-19 career with an unbeaten 111 in the World Cup final against Australia, Delhi batsman Unmukt Chand hasn’t been able to live up to his promise.
Labelled as the future of Indian cricket after leading his team to a third title win in the U-19 World Cup, Chand has had a quiet IPL and Ranji season so far but showed some mettle in the Challenger trophy.
He was part of the U-23 team to the Asian Cricket Council tournament and India A squad against the touring West Indies A this season but failed to make the opportunities count substantially. However, the 20-year-old batsman will be hoping to get inspired by his book 'Sky is the Limit' which follows his team’s sensational journey to the U-19 World Cup.
“I came here after the Ranji game in Odisha. I got out in both innings early and it felt bad. Such stages come in life and I am trying to find my own way of coping. I never doubt myself and keep confidence and self-belief. Playing for my country is a goal and if you keep working towards a goal it will eventually happen,” he said.
“I have learnt a lot after the U-19 WC. I played in many tournaments and got experience,” Chand who has the luxury of having experienced teammates like Virender
Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma, added on the sidelines of an interaction with students at Ryan International School, Andheri, here on Tuesday. Chand said that writing the book was more difficult than playing competitive cricket.
“Writing a book wasn’t a passion like cricket so it was difficult. Writing has been an integral part of me as I used to write diaries and reviews of films and books. My dad inculcated the writing habit in me. But I didn’t know it will happen so soon. My uncle told me to write a book. After that I started to compile diaries,” he said.
“I started writing from when we got together for the first time during the camp in Bengaluru. I had done 80 percent work on the book before the (U-19) World Cup. We had belief we would win the World Cup. Otherwise there was no point writing. That was the power of believing,” he said.
Inspired by Virat Kohli who led India U-19 to the title triumph in 2008, Chand said he always wanted to lead the team. “I had seen the team winning with Virat. I realised the captain was important. When I joined the U-19 camp in Bengaluru, I always wanted to be captain,” he revealed.
Chand said that he had no plans to write another book and would now focus on cricket. “Cricket is integral part of my life. I will focus to improve my batting. I am not thinking of writing another book as of now,” he said. He felt India were favourites to win the U-19 World Cup to be played in February 2014 in the UAE.
“India will start as favourites. Skipper Vijay Zol has experience and so does Akhil Herwadkar. They have some good players and can defend the title,” he said.
