Unmukt Chand

Unmukt Chand shot to prominence when he captained India Under-19 to victory in the 2012 World Cup, upsetting hosts Australia with a calm, unbeaten 111 in a tense chase. His temperament stood out throughout the tournament as he guided India in unfamiliar conditions - it was his third consecutive century in a final for the under-19 side.

Chand had made his Ranji debut while still in school and hit his maiden century - 151 - in his fourth game. He made his IPL debut at 18 years and 15 days, and has often been compared to good friend Virat Kohli, who also led India to Under-19 World Cup glory, in 2008. Chand has been a regular feature in the India A side and led them to victories against New Zealand A in 2013 and Bangladesh A in 2015. In between, he led the team to a Triangular series win in Chennai. He then became only the third Indian batsman to make three T20 centuries when he slammed 103 off 58 balls for Delhi, against Gujarat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2016.

Chand maintains a regular diary and carries a dictionary with him. However, Chand, the batsman, is far from a finished article. He tends to go hard at the ball early and is yet to crack the consistency code. Chand's IPL career hasn't taken off either, his first and hitherto only fifty coming for Mumbai Indians against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015. Despite modest returns, Chand was retained by Mumbai ahead of the 2016 auction.
ESPNcricinfo Staff