I would love to play for India in the future: UAE's Chirag Suri

Delhi-born Chirag Suri is the sole United Arab Emirates (UAE) cricketer to bag an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract last month. He will play for the Gujarat Lions in this year’s IPL but also wants to play for India someday.

The 22-year old opener — who is yet to make an international debut for his country in t20 and ODI, and was even dropped for the first two 50-over games against Afghanistan — was picked by Gujarat Lions, feels nothing is impossible.

“Of course, why not? It’s my country of birth,” Suri, who was roped in by Gujarat Lions for his base price of Rs 10 lakh, told IANS during a chat from Dubai.

“(Eoin) Morgan did that. I mean it (India) is an amazing place for cricket. And everybody loves it, the crowds, the noise, the atmosphere. I would love to play for India in the future, but I have no regrets,” said Suri.

Having moved to the UAE at the age of six, the Virat Kohli fan was introduced to cricket by his father Bobby Suri, who still plays the game in the Dubai Cricket Council’s Mammoths League.

“Making a name for oneself is difficult here,” said Suri, who was the best in the business for his school and college teams, winning the best batsman awards numerous times.

“But associate players getting picked in big leagues is a huge boost,” the right-hander said, giving Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan’s example, who was picked by defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping Rs 4 crore — eight times his base price.

He also explained the inadequate cricketing opportunities in the gulf country for him to cement a place in the national side.

“In the UAE we don’t get a lot of matches and I haven’t had the innings in my career which would cement my spot so far. Going forward it’s something I want to improve on and getting big runs in important matches is what I look to achieve.

“The IPL in this regard will be of great help and also rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brendon McCullum and Jason Roy will surely help,” Suri added.