India's U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand opened up on not being able to attain success with the senior team.
In 2012, Unmukt Chand was touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket after he led the side to the U-19 World Cup victory in the year. The comparisons with Virat Kohli had already begun as he impressed fans and experts alike with his batting abilities at the time.
However, he failed to step up ever since, as a senior international cap still remains a distant dream for Chand. He is currently the only U-19 World Cup-winning captain from India to not play a single game for the men's senior team.
Talking to Aakash Chopra on his show on YouTube, the batsman talked about his career and opened up on not being able to replicate the success with senior team.
"Of course, for any Under-19 player, the World Cup is the most important thing. The hard work of so many years - from junior cricket to Under-16 and so on, it's like a summit for any junior cricketer to reach there and definitely. Just like winning the World Cup is a dream, similarly, lifting the Under-19 World Cup is also one," Chand said.
"Four years ago, I had seen Virat bhaiya leading the side and winning the cup, so since it was fresh in the memory its impact was big. I knew stories could be different. It's not like you always automatically play for India but for me it was more important to win the Under-19 World Cup."
Post his success in the tournament, Unmukt Chand also captained India A and led to the side's wins over New Zealand A and Bangladesh A, but never received a national call-up.
"It's not like I didn't get opportunities after the win. I played for India A and I was captaining the team till 2016 as well. I was getting runs. A few times I was told ‘just be ready, we'll be picking you'. But that's ok. To say that had I played, I would have done this and that isn't logical. The most important is what happened and what I could have learnt," Chand said.
"At times it's like you're aware that the Indian cricket team is about combinations. I remember very clearly that when things were going well with me, Viru bhaiya and Gautam bhaiya used to open for India. Then there was a time when there was a dearth of good openers, and during that period, my form was under a slump. Those things are also important."
