SportEpisode 35·Long-form interview

Chirag Suri - From UAE Cricket to the IPL & Mentorship from Yuvraj Singh

Chirag Suri is one of the most recognisable faces in Associate cricket - a former vice-captain of the UAE national team, the first player from the country to be picked in the IPL by Gujarat Lions in 2017, and one of the leading ODI run-scorers in the world in 2022.

33:06

October 5, 2025

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Guest

Chirag Suri

UAE Cricketer

Chirag Suri is a former UAE international cricketer who made history in 2017 as the first Emirati player ever signed by an IPL franchise, joining Gujarat Lions and training alongside stars like Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and Brendon McCullum. Born in New Delhi and raised in Dubai from the age of ten, Chirag went on to become one of UAE's top run-scorers across both ODIs and T20Is, serving as vice-captain and playing 37 ODIs and 31 T20Is for his adopted country between 2017 and 2023. Along the way, he received mentorship from Yuvraj Singh and carried the unique weight of representing an associate cricketing nation on the world stage, remaining to this day the only UAE cricketer to have held an IPL contract. On Decoding Wisdom, Chirag opens up about his decision to step away from professional cricket, the early hunger for fame that drove him as a young player, how he earned his place and silenced doubters, and the harder truths about why he eventually lost his love for the game - along with the life lessons on self-knowledge that carried him through it all.

All episodes with Chirag

In this episode

Sachin and Chirag go deep on the moments that shaped the work - the visible wins, the invisible costs, and the frameworks that survived the experience.

Key topics

CricketIPLMentorship

Timestamps

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