DELHI // The first UAE player to earn an Indian Premier League contract has yet to actually play in the competition. But Chirag Suri’s cricketing voyage of discovery in India over the past five weeks has still been richly layered. Robin Uthappa knew who he was. Virat Kohli shook his hand. Suresh Raina has been helping out with his batting strategy. As the Dubai-raised batsman continues to plot his path to a first-team debut, here he gives us the run down on some of the highlights of living with the Gujarat Lions so far.
Favourite moment: Meeting Virat Kohli
Hopefully my best moment is yet to come, if I am selected to play, but so far, it has been meeting Virat Kohli. Sharing a dressing room with these guys anyway, and then looking up and seeing I was shaking hands after a game with Virat Kohli, that was a big moment for me.
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Read more
■ Chirag Suri: On life in the IPL and mixing it with superstars
■ Living with the Lions: On the road and in the air in the IPL
■ IPL 2017: Paul Radley takes the 1,173km journey from Pune to Delhi
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Roommate: Pratham Singh
Sometimes we share, and when we do, my roommate has been Pratham Singh, a left-hand batsman who is also from Delhi, and plays Ranji Trophy cricket. I don’t know how it was decided, but we were just put together, and he is a nice guy. We have a very good relationship. He makes sure I’m up for breakfast, and we push each other in the gym.
Best mate in the squad: Basil Thampi
Basil Thampi is a good friend of mine, a bowler from Kerala. If somebody is from Kerala, it basically means they are from Dubai! I have told him he will have a lot of fans cheering for him back in the UAE.
Hardest worker: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik works so hard, as do Jason Roy and Brendon McCullum. McCullum just keeps batting and batting and batting at nets. He does a lot of drills, things like using just one hand. They are all very, very keen to improve, and Suresh Raina, too. He puts in so much effort.
Most helpful: Mohammed Kaif
Mohammed Kaif [the former India batsman now Gujarat Lions assistant coach] has been very helpful towards me, giving me direction. It is about you, how much you want to make out of it, and if you don’t ask you are not going to get anything. If you ask questions all the time, it will help you.
Receiving his team shirt
There was no formal shirt presentation or anything like that. We got to our rooms at the hotel in Rajkot, and all our kit was there. It was a real thrill to see my shirt with my name on the back. It was a very proud feeling.
The team initiation
We did have a funny initiation, where we had to stand up and speak, at the team hotel in Rajkot. I enjoyed it. For the guys who couldn’t speak much English, it was a little bit intimidating, but I found it all right.
pradley@thenational.ae
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