Given how rapidly the world has changed in recent times, it is difficult to recollect precisely what life was like 11 days ago.
Chirag Suri remembers vividly what he was doing at that point. As well he should, seeing it was his wedding day.
The UAE cricketer was given special dispensation to miss national team training ahead of their scheduled tour to the United States, and flew to India instead.
March 13 was all set to be a fairy-tale ceremony, at Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, the venue that hosted the marriage of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas last year.
This one was touched with stardust, too. Yuvraj Singh, the India great, was due to be among the congregation.
And he made it there, too, even though many other guests had to cancel.
“Luckily everything came together before the coronavirus [restrictions became more widespread], because we had guests flying in from everywhere,” Suri said. “If it had been now, it wouldn’t have happened.”
Suri flew on March 7. Schools in the UAE would officially close from the following day, but the measures against the spread of coronavirus in terms of travel limitations were still relatively minimal at that stage.
“As I left, the scare was just starting,” Suri said.
“I remember going to training and taking my hand sanitiser. That is what the level was at at that point.
“When I left, I didn’t shake anyone’s hand, then accidentally went for a high five and immediately hand sanitised.
“I got a message a week later saying we were stopping training because of coronavirus.
“I thought I would miss a week’s training, then come back, but I didn’t miss anything. I was supposed to go for my honeymoon, but everything is cancelled now.”
Suri and his bride Anmol were due to fly to Milan, travel through Italy to Switzerland, then fly out of Zurich.
Clearly, that became impossible, and his Dubai reception – which was planned for the conclusion of the now-postponed UAE tour to Florida – next month seems certain to go the same way.
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Stars who have tested positive
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The 25-year-old is just grateful that the main event was able to go ahead.
And it was a good job Anmol, who is operations manager for a Dubai-based company, had said “yes”.
Some years ago, her new husband had had her name vividly inscribed on his forearm in the form of a tattoo.
“As a cricketer, it is great to have somebody there when you come home, who you can share everything with,” Suri said.
“And she is a really big cricket fan. Massive. She doesn’t miss any India games, or any of my matches either.
“She goes into detail. She’ll say: ‘Chirag, why are you playing the reverse sweep? You just get out playing this shot.’
“Now her father is telling me not to play the reverse sweep, too.
"I got out doing it a couple of times, then I went to their house and they were asking what I was thinking.
“They said: ‘Now just stop playing this shot’. I’m going to have to because the wife said not to. She knows cricket too well.”
Yuvraj has basically been mentoring me for the past six months
Whether Anmol’s advice supersedes that of Yuvraj is open to question, though.
Suri says the former India star has been like a mentor to him since the two were teammates together in the Global T20 Canada last summer – hence his appearance at the ceremony.
“We had 20 or 30 cancellations at the wedding, but luckily all the close ones made it, and Yuvraj was there,” Suri said.
“He was the captain of my team in Toronto, and when he came to UAE for [Abu Dhabi] T10 we spoke again.
“We are close. He is a very lovely guy. These guys have no personal time.
"If somebody comes up to speak to him at a personal time, and he says, ‘Look, boss, I’m eating right now,’ people perceive that as arrogant.
“But he is a very kind guy. I have learnt so much from him. He has basically been mentoring me for the past six months.”
In those six months, Suri has emerged as a key player in a UAE side that is still recovering from the turmoil of six senior players being banned for corruption last year.
“I was in a very good space with my batting from September onwards, but a lot of things were happening around the team,” Suri said.
“Before the qualifier, I have not hit the ball as well as I was doing at that point.
"Even in Muscat in the last tournament [Asia Cup qualifying, when Suri was the UAE’s leading run-scorer], I wasn’t hitting the ball as well.
“But so many things happened around us. There was so much negativity. I was getting starts, but I didn’t think I justified how I was feeling at that moment.
“I was thinking about too many other things rather than just watching the ball.”
Before the sport was forced into lockdown, Suri had been in fine form.
He was the national team’s leading batsman as they progressed to the the next phase of Asia Cup qualifying.
Only three players have scored more runs than him in T20 international cricket so far this year.
“It is about a change in mentality,” Suri said, crediting the influence of new UAE coach Robin Singh for his improved form.
“Robin told me I was one of the main batters, and he gave that ownership to me.
“I hadn’t felt that before. At nets, you can see who has got what ability. Robin said to me, ‘If you score runs, we will win matches’.
“I have gone into every match with that mindset since.”
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: SimpliFi
Started: August 2021
Founder: Ali Sattar
Based: UAE
Industry: Finance, technology
Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
%3Cp%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%201.9km%20King%20Salman%20Boulevard%2C%20a%20Parisian%20Champs-Elysees-inspired%20avenue%2C%20is%20scheduled%20for%20completion%20in%202028%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20Royal%20Diriyah%20Opera%20House%20is%20expected%20to%20be%20completed%20in%20four%20years%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20Diriyah%E2%80%99s%20first%20of%2042%20hotels%2C%20the%20Bab%20Samhan%20hotel%2C%20will%20open%20in%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20On%20completion%20in%202030%2C%20the%20Diriyah%20project%20is%20forecast%20to%20accommodate%20more%20than%20100%2C000%20people%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20The%20%2463.2%20billion%20Diriyah%20project%20will%20contribute%20%247.2%20billion%20to%20the%20kingdom%E2%80%99s%20GDP%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20It%20will%20create%20more%20than%20178%2C000%20jobs%20and%20aims%20to%20attract%20more%20than%2050%20million%20visits%20a%20year%0D%3Cbr%3E-%20About%202%2C000%20people%20work%20for%20the%20Diriyah%20Company%2C%20with%20more%20than%2086%20per%20cent%20being%20Saudi%20citizens%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETamer%20Ruggli%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadine%20Labaki%2C%20Fanny%20Ardant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm