Unmukt
Chand, who won the 2012 U-19 World Cup for India as a captain, on Tuesday
became the first Indian male cricketer to play in Australia’s Big Bash League
(BBL). Unmukt, who played 21 matches in IPL, has made his BBL T20 debut against
Hobart Hurricanes on Tuesday at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He has been
signed by Melbourne Renegades.

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The
Melbourne franchise is led by Australia’s limited-overs teams’ captain Aaron
Finch and also features batter Shaun Marsh.

The
28-year-old Indian cricketer snapped ties with Indian cricket last year, calling time on
his domestic and international career, to play franchise-based T20 leagues
across the world.

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Unmukt
had never played for India. In the IPL, he donned the jersey of three
franchises – Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, and Rajasthan Royals. In
domestic cricket, he played for Delhi and Uttarakhand. Overall, he played 67 first-class
matches.

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In
2021, Unmukt signed up with the Silicon Valley Strikers for the 2021 season of
the Minor League Cricket, a national T20 competition in the United States.

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Having
relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in August, he has also signed a
multi-year deal with Major League Cricket to support the development of the
game in the country by playing with and mentoring the next generation of
American cricketers.

Unmukt came into the spotlight when he led India to the U-19 World Cup victory in
Australia. He was player of the match in the final, scoring an unbeaten 111
against an Australian side featuring a host of now-BBL stars, including the
likes of Travis Head and Ashton Turner.

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As
inconsistency and failures ruined Unmukt’s chances of playing for India, he
left for Uttarakhand in 2019 after Delhi dropped him. But there too his luck
did not change. Unmukt eventually stepped away from Indian cricket and moved to
the United States of America to search for opportunities.

Renegades
are currently placed at the rock bottom of the points table with 15 points in
12 matches.