New Delhi: India's 2012 Under-19 World Cup-winning skipper Unmukt Chand, who was once touted as next Virat Kohli, on Sunday in a conversation with cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra opened-up about his past.
Talking about his Under-19 World Cup triumph, Chand said, "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."
"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."
Chand has managed to score 3,379 runs in 67 First-Class matches. He said that he had been scoring runs after the 2012 tournament and even captained India A squad but never got his 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," Chand said.
