Unmukt Chand opens up on comparisons with Virat Kohli, says it was an motivation for him

Former Mumbai Indians batter Unmukt Chand has shed light on being compared with Virat Kohli when he was rising through the ranks. Chand grabbed the headlines when he led India Under-19 team to glory in the 2012 World Cup.

The right-hander scored an unbeaten knock of 111 runs off 130 balls in the final of the tournament against Australia. Chand was deemed as the next big thing in Indian cricket but unfortunately things didn’t go according to plan for him.

“I saw Virat growing in front of me. Four years back he had won the World Cup. When I was playing Ranji Trophy before the World Cup itself I was sharing the dressing room with him. So it was an inspiration to me. When people compare you to him, I have to step up to fill those shoes and come to that level. I always look at it like that,” Chand said on Raunac podcast.

The former Delhi cricketer revealed how he learned a lot from Virat Kohli after making his List A debut.

“My first season for Delhi was in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2009. Virat was in the team and I spoke a lot with him at that time. He was there in my Ranji Trophy debut as well. I used to talk a lot to him. I would open with Shikhar and one own was Virat so I have batted quite a bit with him too.”

On the other hand, Chand also featured in a viral Pepsi advertisement with Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina. The right-hander shared his experience of sharing the stage with three big names of Indian cricket.

“That ad shoot happened after the World Cup. It was a Pepsi Ad. There was a match between Delhi and UP in Ghaziabad. From UP also Suresh Raina, Bhuvi, Praveen Kumar, all these guys were there. From Delhi Gautam, myself, Virat all were there. Our shoot was the next day after the game. I had no idea all of them would come for that shoot as well,” he said. (54:28) (via the aforementioned source)

“A very good and different experience for me personally. I had a lot of fun. For a youngster, shooting with such big names that too in an Ad that was tilted more towards me, what more can you ask for? It was very special and people still remember it. It was one of those epic Ads,” he added.

Chand scored 300 runs in 21 IPL matches but could not make his debut with the national team.