Another young cricketer who learnt the sport while growing up in the UAE has made it to the Indian Premier League as Macneil Noronha joins Chennai Super Kings.
The 24-year-old batter has been called up by the five-time champions as an injury replacement for Ramakrishna Ghosh.
Ghosh was ruled out for the season after fracturing his right foot on debut for CSK against Mumbai Indians at the start of this month.
His replacement is the first Dubai-born player to feature in the IPL, and the second from the UAE to make it into cricket’s biggest league this season.
Yash Punja, who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, has impressed in his debut campaign as a leg spinner for Rajasthan Royals.
Now Noronha will get his chance to impress after being brought into an injury-ravaged CSK squad on a salary of around $31,000.
The Chennai side are fifth in the points table with 12 points from 11 games ahead of their next game, against Lucknow Super Giants, on Friday.
Noronha moved from Dubai to Karnataka in India as a teenager to pursue his cricket career, but took his first steps in the game in the UAE.
His initial contact with formal cricket came at the Dubai-based Maxtalent Global Sports academy at age seven and later with Desert Cubs.
“When he first arrived he was just like any other six- or seven-year-old kid – more interested in having fun,” said Sudhakar Shetty, the founder and chief executive of Maxtalent Global Sports.
“He was a kid who picked up the game very quickly. The idea of picking up the bat in a particular style, or working on this or that, never really appealed to Macneil; he just wanted to go and hit the ball.
“Over a period of time he matured, and picked up the traditional methods of playing the game, but he always maintained a very free-minded approach. He was a happy-go-lucky kid.”
Noronha’s parents, who are still based in Dubai, saw their son’s talent for the game and encouraged his move to India to develop. He joined an engineering college and continued to progress in cricket.
He was the highest run-getter in the 2024–25 Colonel CK Nayudu Trophy, which is India’s leading competition for Under-23s in the four-day format.
That earned him a call-up from the Karnataka state team for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy — the official domestic T20 competition.
That has now been followed by his elevation to cricket’s most-watched league competition, for one of its most successful sides.
“His family did wonderfully for their son, to help him to where he is today,” Shetty said.
“When he was here we could see had talent, but in India cricket is very, very competitive.
"When he got his break to play Under 19s and later for his state, Karnataka, that was when he really moved on.”
Just as with Punja at Rajasthan, Noronha’s progress to the IPL should inspire young players in the UAE to believe that making it to the top in cricket is achievable, according to Shetty.
“For the new generation it is an inspiring story; they should feel that there is always a future path ahead for them,” Shetty said.
“It doesn't matter where you play or where you are from. If you have the skill and talent to match up, you can make it big. If Macneil can do it, then why not them.”
