Everyone relates to him as the skipper of the Under-19 Indian team which recently won the World Cup in Australia, and a budding talent. But one freewheeling conversation with Unmukt Chand makes you realise that the leader and batsman in him was born during his tryst with school cricket from a very early age.
Speaking to MAIL TODAY , on the sidelines of his Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils’ initiative to start an inter-school T20 cricket tournament, Unmukt said that every youngster should get a feel of playing school cricket early in life.
Unmukt feels that school cricket not only toughens up a budding cricketer, but also teaches him the importance of coordinating with others in a team sport.
“Inter-school cricket is a fantastic platform for youngsters to learn about the nuances of the game. This is where the concept of being part of a team, building relationships and valuing the performance of others as much as your own comes to the fore. Going for individual glory is basic human nature. But this is where you learn that sometimes it is important to sacrifice in order to achieve ultimate goals.
“I am one of the biggest examples of playing loads of inter-school cricket and enjoying, learning every minute on the pitch and valuing friendship and the importance of teamwork. Even when I was picked for Delhi’s Ranji Trophy squad, I was playing in an inter-school tournament for Modern School (Barakhamba),” he said, before unveiling the trophy.
The tournament will have 48 schools from Delhi and NCR taking part in the competition with the final to be played on Dec 16. It will provide an opportunity to the members of the winning team to train with the Daredevils players.
Some of the prominent schools which are participating in the tournament are Modern School (Barakhamba), DPS ( RK Puram), Amity International (Noida), Salwan Public School (Rajinder Nagar and Mayur Vihar).
The talent spotters will be Daredevils’ Head of Cricket Operations TA Sekar, former players Sunil Valson — also the AVP Operations of GMR Sports — and Ashish Kapoor ( AVP Sports Administration GMR Sports).
Unmukt backs inter-school cricket
Mail Today – Fri 16 Nov, 2012 11:03 AM ISTMatches
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- HYD won by 5 wkts.Match 72
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KOLHYD - 2nd ODI
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PAKSCOMatch abandonedSun, May 19, 2013Raeburn Place, Edinburgh, ScotlandPakistan in Scotland ODI S... - PUN won by 38 runsMatch 71
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DELPUN
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