The former Indian U19 captain Unmukt Chand will feature for Melbourne Renegades in this year’s Big Bash League (BBL) which has come as a bit of a surprise for the Indian fans, as not too many Indian players feature in the foreign T20 leagues at all.
But Unmukt Chand’s case is slightly different. He has not contracted to BCCI or any other domestic association of BCCI in any capacity anymore. The right-hander has now moved to the USA and is playing league cricket there in his bid to be eligible to play international cricket for America in the future.
And he seems to have got the NOC from the USA cricket board to feature in the Big Bash League, which is probably the second-best T20 league in the world after IPL in terms of attracting the best of overseas players.
Unmukt Chand, at one point of time, was tipped as someone who could have a long career in international cricket at the senior level, but despite having plenty of potentials, he never really had a good run of 2-3 seasons in domestic cricket where he was the highest run-scorer in the circuit on the bounce.
Unmukt would want to attract IPL franchises as well with a good show in the Big Bash League
Unmukt kept getting ignored for national team selection for a long time and with no IPL buyers for him either, he made the decision of moving to the USA some time ago where he thought the opportunities could be there for him to have a go at the senior level international cricket.
Unmukt can attract IPL franchises as well if he has a good run at Renegades this year, but if he gets a contract in the IPL, he will have to play as a foreign player and not as a domestic player as he used to play before.
“I’m really looking forward to coming to Melbourne and to get going. I’ve always enjoyed playing in Australia. I know there are lots of Indians in Melbourne, I hope the crowds turn up for games as well,” Unmukt said after being signed by Melbourne Renegades for BBL.
