Unmukt Chand is one of Indian cricket’s most unusual stories. At 19, he captained India to the 2012 ICC Under-19 World Cup title in Australia, scoring an unbeaten 111 in the final against the hosts. At 20, he had six brand endorsement deals running at the same time. By 28, he made a decision almost no Indian cricketer had made before — he retired from domestic cricket in India entirely and moved to the United States, where he now plays professionally in Major League Cricket for the Los Angeles Knight Riders.
During his IPL career between 2011 and 2016, Chand represented Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, and Mumbai Indians, earning a reported ₹2.25 crore across those stints. His current net worth is estimated between ₹4 crore and ₹25 crore, though no verified figure has been made public. This article covers Unmukt Chand’s net worth, IPL teams, career stats, and personal life.
Who is Unmukt Chand?
Unmukt Chand is a 33-year-old cricketer from Delhi who was the captain of the India Under-19 in the 2012 ICC Under-19 World Cup title in Australia, scoring an unbeaten 111 in the final. Despite that breakthrough and a decade of consistent domestic performance, he never earned a senior India cap.
In 2021, at just 28, he retired from Indian domestic cricket and relocated to the United States. He currently plays for the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket and Kings XI Dallas in Minor League Cricket, representing the United States as an international player.
Quick Facts of Unmukt Chand
| Full Name | Unmukt Chand |
| Date of Birth | 26 March 1993 |
| Age | 33 (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Delhi, India |
| Nationality | American-Indian |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Wife | Simran Khosla (m. 2021) |
| Son | Krishay Chand (born on 27 September 2025) |
| Batting Style | Right-handed, top-order |
| Bowling Style | Right-arm offbreak |
| Current Team | Los Angeles Knight Riders (Major League Cricket) |
| IPL Teams | Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians |
| Net Worth | INR 8 to 12 crore |
Early Life & Education
Unmukt Chand was born on March 26, 1993, in Delhi, India. He comes from a Kumaoni Rajput family with roots in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. However, he grew up entirely in Delhi. He started playing cricket locally at the age of six.
Chand went to Delhi Public School and later transferred in the ninth grade to Modern School, Barakhamba Road, because of their superior cricket infrastructure. Later, he went on to pursue a Bachelor of Arts at St. Stephen’s College, one of the most competitive institutions for undergraduates.
Balancing cricket and education took a toll on Unmukt’s participation in college. His commitments in cricket were always his priority. Unfortunately, he was barred from his first-year examinations because of his poor attendance. However, he challenged the decision in the Delhi High Court, won the case, and earned his degree. This is the kind of interlude that tells you more about his character than his batting statistics can.
Unmukt Chand’s Family Background
The former India U-19 captain was born to Bharat Chand Thakur and Rajeshwori Chand, who were school teachers. Chand has a younger sister, Samragyi Chand, who keeps a low public profile.
Unmukt Chand’s Wife Simran Khosla
The Delhi-born cricketer married Simran Khosla on November 21, 2021, in a private ceremony at her family home in Delhi.
The couple shared their wedding photos on social media with the caption: “Today, we decided on forever! 21.11.21.“ It is speculated that they were together for three years before their wedding.
Khosla has proved herself to be more than a cricketer’s wife. She had trained initially as a chartered accountant and cleared the CA foundation(first level). But she walked away from the articleship because of poor experience. The experience took a toll on her mental health. She later joined a gym to better her mental and physical health. That is how she found her love for fitness and workouts. She founded Butt Like An Apricot in April 2016, an online fitness and workout platform. The business has served over 3000 clients worldwide.
The couple relocated to Dallas, Texas, after their marriage, where Chand found his second career in cricket.
Unmukt Chand Cricket Career: How It Started?
The 2012 World Cup-winning captain picked up a cricket bat at six years old and quickly moved through the Delhi age-group structure. He captained the Delhi U-19 team and the North Zone U-19 team before leading the India U-19.
While still in school, he scored 499 runs in his first stint with the Delhi U-19 setup and averaged in excess of 57 in his debut Ranji Trophy season.
Unmukt’s 2012 U-19 World Cup: The Innings That Made Him
In August 2012, Unmukt led India to the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Australia. In the finale at Townsville, India chased 255, and he finished unbeaten on 111, with 9 fours and 6 sixes, anchoring a 130-run stand with Smit Patel. India scored a victory by 7 wickets, and Chand ended the tournament with 281 runs from 5 matches. The Australian side included names like Travis Head, Cameron Bancroft, and Ashton Turner.
Earlier that year at the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, he scored 116 against Sri Lanka in the semifinal and 121 against Pakistan in the final, making the World Cup century his third consecutive hundred in an Under-19 final.
The Los Angeles Knight Riders batter was even compared with Virat Kohli. Both were Delhi batsmen who captained India Under-19 to World Cup glory, but their stories went in entirely different directions.
Unmukt Chand Domestic Cricket Stats and Career
India’s forgotten prodigy played 67 matches, scored 3,379 runs at an average of 31.57, and hit 8 centuries with a highest of 151 across first-class cricket. In List A cricket, 120 matches brought 4,505 runs at 41.33 with 7 centuries. His domestic T20 record across 87 matches reads 1,723 runs at 21.81 and a strike rate of 115, including 3 centuries and a highest of 125.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy brought some of his most aggressive batting. He scored 105 off 67 balls against Kerala and 125 off 63 balls against Gujarat in the same campaign and finished as Delhi’s leading scorer with a strike rate of 140.
In 2016, 103 off 58 balls against Gujarat made him the third Indian batsman to score three domestic T20 centuries. His 116 in the 2013 Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Assam helped Delhi win that title for the first time. In 2019, he moved to Uttarakhand for a fresh start, managed 195 runs from 7 first-class games, and left within a year.
His conversion rate was always the key question. Delhi coach K.P. Bhaskar said publicly that dropping him was meant to shake him out of his comfort zone.
A cricketer of his calibre never earned a senior India cap across a decade of domestic cricket, which remains the unanswered question at the centre of his career.
Unmukt Chand Career Stats
| Format | Match | Runs | Average | 100s | 50s | HS |
| First Class | 67 | 3,379 | 31.57 | 8 | 16 | 151 |
| List A | 120 | 4,505 | 41.33 | 7 | 32 | 127 |
| T20(Indian-Domestic) | 87 | 1,723 | 21.81 | 3 | 6 | 125 |
| IPL | 21 | 300 | – | 0 | 1 | 58 |
Unmukt Chand IPL Teams and Salary
Unmukt Chand made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2011 at just 18 years old. He played for three IPL teams across six seasons and earned a total of INR 2.25 crore across that span.
Unmukt Chand IPL Season-by-Season Salary
| Season | Team | Salary (INR) |
| 2011 | Delhi Daredevils | 10 Lakhs |
| 2012 | Delhi Daredevils | 10 Lakhs |
| 2013 | Delhi Daredevils | 10 Lakhs |
| 2014 | Rajasthan Royals | 65 Lakhs |
| 2015 | Mumbai Indians | 65 Lakhs |
| 2016 | Mumbai Indians | 65 Lakhs |
Unmukt Chand made his IPL debut for Delhi Daredevils in 2011 at just 18 years old. He played for three IPL teams across six seasons and earned a total of INR 2.25 crore across that span.
Delhi Daredevils (2011 to 2013)
The Delhi-born cricketer spent three seasons with Delhi at INR 10 lakh per year from 2011 to 2013. The 2013 campaign is the one that places him in every IPL conversation. Bowled by Brett Lee off the first ball of his first match that season, he failed three more times in quick succession and was dropped.
Rajasthan Royals (2014)
Chand was purchased for INR 65 lakh at the IPL 7 auction, and he played alongside Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, and Ajinkya Rahane.
Mumbai Indians (2015 to 2016)
He joined Mumbai at INR 65 lakh per season and won the IPL title in 2015. He was offered retention for 2017, but he was not given enough playing time, so he turned it down hoping for a better opportunity elsewhere.
Unfortunately, he was then dropped by Delhi four days before the 2017 auction, which sent a negative signal to the IPL franchise and he went unpicked entirely.
Across all 21 IPL matches, he scored 300 runs from 20 innings with a highest of 58 and a strike rate of 100. His only half-century came against RCB in 2015.
SUGGESTED READ: 10 Best All-Rounders in IPL History: Top Performers by Runs & Wickets
Retirement from Indian Cricket & Unmukt Chand Current Teams
In August 2021, Chand retired from Indian domestic cricket at 28, relocated to the United States, and signed a three-year deal with Major League Cricket. He told an Australian news outlet that giving up on the dream of playing for India was very difficult and took significant time to accept mentally.
He joined the Silicon Valley Strikers in the US Minor League Cricket, topped their runs list with 612 from 16 innings in 2021, and led them to triumphs.
He became the first Indian male cricketer to sign a Big Bash League contract and joined Melbourne Renegades for the 2021-22 season, making his debut on January 18, 2022 as a US international. In November 2022, he was signed by Chattogram Challengers, becoming the first Indian to appear in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Chand’s Current Team
He was picked by the Los Angeles Knight Riders for the inaugural Major League Cricket season in 2023. He moved to Atlanta Lightning, and then returned to the Knight Riders setup.
As of 2025, he is a part of the Los Angeles Knight Riders in Major League Cricket and Kings XI Dallas in Minor League Cricket, where he has scored over 1,700 runs across 50 innings and is among the most consistent batters in the league.
The history repeats
Despite his MLC performances, he was left out of the USA squad for both the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cups. After missing the 2024 squad, he stated, “That wasn’t an ideal situation to be in. This was what I had dreamed of for the last three years. It was a big shock.”
This was, in some ways, a second iteration of the same problem he faced in India.
Unmukt Chand’s Social Media
The MLC batter maintains an active presence on social media. He has 1.1 million Facebook followers, 171,000 on X, and 170,000 on an Instagram handle that goes by @unmuktchand_official.
Unmukt Chand Net Worth (2026)
An estimation based on what is actually documented puts Unmukt’s net worth at INR 8 to 12 crore.
His confirmed IPL earnings across six seasons total Rs 2.25 crore. Gulf News reported his peak endorsement fee at between $110,000 and $150,000 per annum per brand in 2013, with six brands running simultaneously during that IPL season.
Endorsements
Pepsi signed him in March 2013 alongside Dhoni, Kohli, and Raina for the “Oh Yes Abhi!” campaign. HCL Infosystems named him ambassador for the HCL ME tablet range in February 2013.
Book Deal and Feature Documentary
Alongside the brand work, he signed a book contract with Penguin India, resulting in “The Sky is the Limit,” published in 2013, chronicling his childhood, his rise through Indian cricket, and the 2012 World Cup triumph.
His documentary, Unbroken: The Unmukt Chand Story, directed by Raghav Khanna, had a theatrical release on September 12, 2025, and chronicles his rise, his setbacks in Indian domestic cricket, and his reinvention in the United States.
Other aspects
The U-19 hero’s iCaptain equity stake, Star Sports commentary fees, and contracts across the BBL, BPL, and MLC all contribute to the broader picture, though none of those figures has ever been publicly disclosed.
On the Unmukt Chand BBL contract price specifically, the BBL signs players through direct franchise negotiation rather than a public auction, and individual salaries are not disclosed. The base overseas short-stint player rate for the 2021-22 BBL season was approximately AUD 42,000, but Chand’s specific figure has not been reported by any outlet.
On cars and property, no verified information exists in the public record.
The Full Picture
Unmukt Chand’s story is not a story of unfulfilled potential, though that narrative has followed him for years. He has set himself apart by his standout individual performances in junior World Cup cricket, quality across multiple domestic formats over more than a decade, and then settled on a decision at 28 that very few Indian cricketers had either the courage or the opportunity to make. By moving to the United States and building a professional career in leagues his contemporaries had never considered, he became a pioneer in a quiet and understated way.
Follow Jeetwin Sports for more Cricket Updates.
