Abu Dhabi: UAE have recalled young opener Chirag Suri for the three One Day International series against Netherlands starting July 10.

Suri last played for the UAE in the three-match series against Oman six months back and was dropped after one match.

The 22-year-old, however, later became the first player from UAE to be picked for an Indian Premier League franchise when he signed for Gujarat Lions.

Though he didn’t figure in any outing, the experience gained from sharing the dressing room with some of the bigwigs clearly did a world of good to his confidence.

He has been in consistent form in the Bukhatir League with six 50-plus scores in seven matches for Sharjah Club.

“The IPL stint was a great learning curve though I didn’t get a game and that reflected in my performance in the local tournaments here. I have been not picked in the squad now because I got selected for IPL but the selectors have picked me on my form in these tournaments here. I had two 90 plus scores as well,” said Suri adding that he is confident of carrying that form into the series against Netherlands.

“I’m upbeat about the Netherlands series and I’m confident I can do well. I would have loved to get a chance to play in the IPL but the experience gained has allowed me to become tough. I have learnt that cricket is more about mental toughness and if you are strong in the head, then lots can be achieved,” asserted Suri, adding that he was very disappointed after being dropped and was working hard to get back into the team.

“I just figured in one match against Oman. However, it is good to be back in the squad and hopefully I can live up to the expectations,” said Suri.

In recent times, UAE has had some success in the 50-over format. They won the Tri-Nation Series against Hong Kong and Scotland in January before losing the two-match away series against Ireland in March. UAE also defeated Papua New Guinea across all three formats, winning their first four-day Intercontinental Cup match in four years. The team also made their highest ODI and T20 international scores this year.

UAE Squad: Rohan Mustafa (Captain), Shaiman Anwar (Vice Captain), Ghulum Shabbir, Muhammad Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Muhammad Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Muhammad Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed.