India is blessed to have a pool of talented cricketers who have represented the country wearing the Blue jersey with pride. The country's insane love for the game makes these players celebrities. And fortunately, a population of 1.4 billion has led to see best of the talents representing the nation. However, the same population has led to a flurry of young and talented cricketers, who could never represent the nation, in spite of having all the necessary qualities. And out of these, if one has to choose one particular player who showed tremendous promise early on, but could never achieve that dream of donning the blues, it has to be Unmukt Chand.

A teenage prodigy, and the man who everyone expected a lot from, never got a chance to play for the nation. His style, flamboyance, proven leadership skills and his abilities to hold the nerves weren't put to good use. The U-19 world cup winning captain for India in 2012 was termed to be the next big thing in the Indian cricket, but gradually faded away to eventually vanish from the Indian circuit. It was a shock when everyone got to know in 2020that the teenage sensation will be playing for United States, and now in the 2024 T20 world cup, the man thought to be India's future will be playing against the Indian team.

It certainly was surprising for many initially. But not for those who knew how his career went and how a tad bit of politics also went on to hamper his life. His story will certainly etch the hearts of fans, and also give them immense satisfaction to know that he is finally playing at the international level, be it for any other nation. Just like every other Indian kid, he dreamt of playing for the nation once, and started his cricketing journey. He excelled early on and quickly honed his skills and upped his game to grab the eyeballs of Delhi cricket association. Consistently performing and delivering for the team, he made sure he is getting a chance for the U-19 squad of Delhi first, then North Zone and finally to the U-19 Indian team.

His performance peaked as he started to play for U-19 team. He was appointed as the skipper of U-19 Indian team. And under his leadership, the team performance elevated in the two quadrangular series. And then he led his team exceptionally well in Asia cup. In all these tournaments, he scored century at the crucial moments. And then, the team under his leadership won the 2012 U-19 World Cup. Leading from the front, played a captain's knock of 111 runs in the finals against Australia. His batting as well as leadership skills were critically appreciated and he was very well received by the Indian crowd. People saw a shadow of Virat Kohli in Chand, as the former led the team to 2008 U-19 world cup win, and then went on to become an established player by 2012. And the same was expected from Unmukt. But then, 2013 IPL happened.

Already a part of the Delhi Daredevils squad since 2011, he now was noticed by all the fans and spectators being the promising talent who fetched us glory. And trusting him, Delhi Daredevils gave him the chance as an opener in the very first match. He faced the very first ball of 2013 IPL, when a peach of a delivery from Brett Lee uprooted the stumps and sent him back to the pavilion. The fans were left utterly disappointed, but still hoped for better performance from him going ahead. But in the second match against Mumbai Indians, he met a similar fate when he was yet again dismissed on a golden duck due to a blinder from Ricky Ponting on the very first ball of the second match. Although on both the occasions, the things weren't under his control, he was at the receiving end of disappointment from the fans. Also he was dropped for the next matches.

The two golden ducks dented his confidence significantly. And specifically knowing that him not performing when the entire world was watching him, hoping for better action from him, even worsened his situation. Low on confidence, he still tried hard but to no good result. Going ahead he played for Mumbai Indians in 2015, when the team won the title, but he got very few chances. The confidence got him down, as his performance went downhill even in domestic circuit. Injury going ahead further restricted his growth. Now he was far away from the limelight and success. To add to his woes, he was dropped from Delhi squad in 2019, and he pursued to play for Uttarakhand from then onwards. But knowing his dream of playing for the nation was far from a reality, he was shattered.

That's exactly when United States was looking for talented proven stars to expand cricket in their nation. And they approached Unmukt, and finally the doors of his success re-opened. He took the opportunity with both his hands, and left Indian cricket for the good and joined the United States. Him along with his 2012 teammate, Smit Patel were offered the chance. And Unmukt made an immediate impact in Minor League Cricket. He led his team Silicon Valley Strikers to the title, while himself being the top run getter of the tournament. He garnered the attention of world cricket yet again with his newly found success and now he made sure to make it count.

The Minor League was a trailer of the Major League Cricket to happen in 2023 in United States. But prior to the Major League Cricket, his regained purple patch of form in Minor League cricket fetched him the opportunity to play the Big Bash League. He was picked by Melbourne Renegades for the 2022 BBL, thereby becoming the first ever Indian to play the Aussie franchise league. The same year, he was picked by Chattogram Challengers to play for the 2023 edition of Bangladesh Premier League, becoming the only Indian to feature in the league. His performances peaked and eventually landed him a place in Major League cricket when he played for Los Angeles Knight Riders. His story continued, and so did he achieve success in the United States. And now, he stands tall waiting for his opportunity to play against India in the 2024 T20 world cup, happening in United States and West Indies.

And as he gears up for his preparation to play for United States, it fills the hearts of fans back in India with pride on one hand, and of disappointment on the other. Knowing that he always deserved to play at the international level, and seeing him getting a chance to do so gives immense joy for all the Indians. And simultaneously, it pains to see the man, who was considered to be the next big thing in Indian cricket, play against Indian team in the world cup. A teenage prodigy like him, a proven match winner and a great leader of his stature truly deserved to play for India at the highest level, and more than his personal loss, it is India's loss to never have him in the senior squad. He indeed is India's lost treasure. But he is still a treasure and him performing at the highest level will give tremendous joy to Indians back home. Today, on his 31st birthday, we wish our very own Indian talent and pride of India in the form of Unmukt Chand, a very happy and prosperous birthday.