INTERVIEW: Chirag Suri's sky-high IPL ambition

Denzil Pinto 00:27 04/04/2017
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  • UAE batsman Chirag Suri has declared it would be a “dream come true” if he can help his Gujarat Lions team win this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

    Six weeks since he became the first Emirates cricketer to be snapped up in the competition’s auction following its 2008 inception, the 22-year-old finally joined his new team-mates, including India international Suresh Raina, at their training camp over the weekend.

    It didn’t take long for him to post a photo on his Instagram account with his new colleagues before sending out a message to the Lions’ fans on their official Facebook page last night, saying he’s “excited” for the new season.

    He will get a feel of what it’s like to be part of the T20 extravaganza when Gujarat host two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders as the long road to glory begins on Friday.

    Suri has insisted it would be surreal should his team lift the prestigious trophy at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on May 21. “That would simply be amazing,” he told Sport360°.

    “It’s something that would be surreal. The teams in the competition are very good with a lot of world-class players and if we win the tournament, then it would really be a dream come true.”

    Suri now follows in the footsteps of his national team-mate Mohammed Naveed, who rubbed shoulders with the likes of Darren Sammy and Ian Bell at last month’s Hong Kong T20 Blitz.

    And Suri was hopeful his selection will be the start for more UAE players to showcase their skills in elite limited-overs competitions. “Absolutely,” he said.

    “Eight or nine of the players who played at the Under-19 World Cup left the country because they say there is no future. But we play a very good, high quality of cricket, playing against English county teams as well as strong countries like Ireland and Afghanistan.

    “There are some very good players in the Associate nations and it just needs cricketers to believe in themselves that they can make a future in the game in the UAE.”

    He added: “The ICC Academy is a world-class facility and the UAE is a country where you play cricket all year-round. “We just need that one mental breakthrough that we can do it.

    “That will only come with games and getting better. I think it’s just a mental block. I think the players over here are strong as a lot of Pakistan internationals play here during the course of the season and don’t get as many runs as they would back home.”

    With India boasting many stunning stadiums, Suri says he is looking forward to playing in them all. “Our home in Rajkot will be very nice and it’s a massive stadium. It would also be amazing to play atthe Wankhede (Mumbai) and Eden Gardens (Kolkata),” he said.

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