India’s U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand, on Friday announced his retirement from all forms of the game. The 28-year-old announced the decision on social media with a series of tweets and a lengthy note along with some memorable videos.

“Though a part of me is not at peace with the way things have unfolded in the last few years, I still choose to see the silver lining and with fond memories bid adieu to BCCI and seek better opportunities around the world,” Unmukt wrote in the lengthy note.

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Who is Unmukt Chand?

A right-handed batsman and off-break bowler, Unmukt Chand was at the peak of his career when he led the Indian team to the U-19 World Cup in 2012. He scored 111 not out in the final and won the man of the match for the effort. 

After his U19 exploits, former Australia skipper Ian Chappell had written in one his columns that he should be included in the Indian team.

For Chand things happened at a break-neck speed as he landed a big television commercial with the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

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The Delhi-born top-order batsman wrote his World Cup memoir, something that had even amused former India captain Rahul Dravid.

But there were also many instances in his life, which did not go down well with former cricketers.

He once took a break from India A camp to attend a talk show seminar of a private channel that had prompted former World Cup-winning India skipper Kapil Dev to criticize him on the stage.

Dev’s team-mate and former chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil wanted him to be sent to Zimbabwe in 2015, but he somehow missed the bus.

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Chand, who played for Delhi and later also captained Uttarakhand, was given chances for India A and Delhi but couldn’t crack the red-ball code despite a memorable 151 against Railways on a seaming track when he was still a student of Modern School, Barakhamba.

Chand played 67 first-class matches, amassing 3,379 runs, with eight hundreds and 16 fifties. However, he never had that breakthrough Ranji or IPL season that could have catapulted him to the next level.

In all probability, Chand will play in a T20 league in the United States, like his U19 World Cup-winning teammate Smit Patel. To compete there, he needed to announce his retirement since the BCCI does not allow its registered players to compete in foreign T20 Leagues.