Unmukt Chand scripts history, becomes first Indian male cricketer to play BBL

An Indian male cricketer playing in BBL was a distant dream until now, however former India's Under 19 World Cup-winning skipper Unmukt Chand has made history as he takes the field for Melbourne Renegades in a BBL match against Hobart Hurricanes on Tuesday.  He becomes the first Indian player to play in BBL. The 28-year-old called time on his playing career in India last year. Chand burst onto the international stage as a teenager in the 2012 ICC U19 World Cup which was played in Australia.

Unmukt Chand set for Melbourne Renegades debut

For the match against Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades brought in four changes to the team from their most recent game, against the Melbourne Stars. Unmukt Chand has been added to the squad, with Zak Evans, Mitch Perry and James Seymour all returning. Players Mackenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk have returned positive COVID-19 tests, are isolated from the group due to which they miss the final two games. Skipper Nic Maddinson has also been ruled out with a hamstring injury, while Kane Richardson has returned home for family reasons. In the absence of Maddinson and Richardson, former skipper Aaron Finch will lead the team.

Recently Unmukt Chand had taken a jibe at his current Melbourne Renegades for not giving an opportunity to feature in any of the BBL matches until today. Chand took out his disappointment on Twitter. He wrote "Feels more like a vacation, Thanks Melbourne". The signing of Unmukt Chand was done by Melbourne Renegades in November last year. Big Bash rules allow teams to pick three overseas players in the playing XI.

The Delhi cricketer was able to play in the ongoing BBL as he is currently plying his trade in the USA after retiring from Indian cricket. Unmukt Chand has experience of playing in T20 format having represented IPL teams like Delhi, Mumbai and Rajasthan. Apart from T20 experience, Unmukt Chand also has plenty of domestic cricket experience spanning more than a decade, including 67 first-class matches.

Hobart Hurricanes vs Renegades

At the time of writing Hurricanes won the toss and decided to bat first, however they lost an early wicket with opener Ben McDermott being removed by Josh Lalor for just 3 runs.