Unmukt Chand made an impressive start in the Major League Cricket (MLC) season, scoring a half-century for the Los Angeles Knight Riders, co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan. Playing at number 3, the former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain scored 53 runs off 32 balls with a strike rate of 165.62. His innings included 4 sixes and 4 fours.Despite Chand’s performance, LA Knight Riders fell short by 32 runs while chasing a target of 220. Andre Russell was dismissed for zero, while Sunil Narine, who typically opens for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL, batted at number 8 and scored 27 off 13 balls.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Russell and Narine, who is captaining KKR’s sister franchise in MLC, both conceded 42 runs each and took one wicket each in their four-over spells.Chand’s performance was closely watched, and he delivered with the bat. He aims to secure a spot in the USA cricket team.Watch:Although expected to lead the USA team in the 2024 T20 World Cup, Chand was not selected. He has yet to make his international debut for the USA.Chand retired from Indian cricket in August 2021 and relocated to the USA. As a US citizen, he cannot return to Indian cricket but remains eligible to play in the IPL. He has registered for the IPL 2025 mega-auction.
His IPL career began with Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) and included stints with Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians. He was part of the Mumbai Indians squad that won the IPL trophy in 2015 under Rohit Sharma’s leadership.Chand’s last IPL appearance was in 2016 for Mumbai Indians. The former Delhi captain also represented Uttarakhand in domestic cricket.
