Chirag Suri admits he was not surprised to be named in the UAE squad for next month’s series against England A, saying he has proved his potential on many occasions in training.

The 21-year-old made his first senior appearance in 15 months during the 40-run victory against Oman in October and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) selectors have continued to keep faith with the batsman, who is named in a 17-man squad.

The UAE take on England’s promising stars in a three-match series, beginning on Thursday at Dubai International Stadium and Suri is relishing the chance of testing himself against the Test nation.

“I’ve been working for a couple of weeks with Owais Shah (head coach) and he’s been working hard with me on my batting,” said the former U-19 international.

“I’ve done extremely well in training and worked on my batting methods and techniques which I needed to work on. Now I have scored some big runs in the domestic games, so it’s good that the selectors have gone for me. Hopefully I can do well and cement a spot in the side.”

With England’s party coached by former first-team supremo Andy Flower, Suri expects a stern test against the tourists. “We’ve been working hard on our fitness levels and I think that will have a positive impact for everyone,” he said.

“I think that will result in better showings from us for what we know will be a challenging series. We are all looking forward to this and ready to put on a good show.”