Unmukt Chand not bothered by failures

VISAKHAPATNAM: The ongoing series against New Zealand 'A' was crucial for Unmukt Chand. The former India U-19 skipper, after the World Cup triumph, hasn't exactly found a solid footing in the big league and the selectors were keen to see how he shapes up in this series, where there are a few international bowlers in the rival line-up.
Till now, it hasn't exactly gone to plan, but Chand is looking to turn things around in the one-day series that starts here on Sunday.
"Yes, I am disappointed that I haven't performed well in the series so far. Perhaps, I couldn't adjust to the longer format right away after returning from the U-23 Asia Cup in Singapore. I am looking to approach the One Dayers with a different mind-set," Chand, who takes over the captaincy from Abhishek Nayar, said.
Ever since his U-19 World Cup heroics, his form has been patchy. Just after the World Cup, Chand was part of the India 'A' tour to New Zealand where he averaged 28.25 in four outings. The subsequent Ranji season for Delhi saw the opener average 37.08 in 13 innings, with just one century. Chand's show at the IPL 6 and the recently concluded U-23 Asia Cup too left a lot to be desired.
But Chand seems to be unperturbed. "What's important for me is to match my own expectations. Cricket is an uncertain sport, so my goal is to focus on the basics, and keep learning. When you play a lot of cricket, there are bound to be failures. I started well last season but in the middle, things didn't go too well. Also, I have got the chance to interact and play with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan early in my career. That experience has helped me a lot, and hopefully the results will start to show soon," said Chand, who returns to a happy hunting ground where he was made the U-19 captain for the first time in 2011.
"This has been a great venue for me. We won the quadrangular tournament here last year before the U-19 World Cup. I also scored a century in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy which Delhi won this year," Chand said.
The Delhi lad, who is quite popular in the cricketing circles for maintaining a diary, has taken his passion to a new level. Chand announced that he will be bringing out his first book by the end of the year.
"I've written a book on our journey to the U-19 World Cup. We started preparing for it about 18 months before we went to Australia. Basically, the book will be a compilation of all my memories of that tournament," Chand said.