The move required the family to split between two countries for several years.
“His parents have sacrificed a lot for the boy. Can you imagine? His father is in Dubai while the mother stayed here taking care of him. His sister is married now, but both brother and sister were here with the mother while she lived away from her husband in Dubai. It was a huge sacrifice. Taking him to the stadium and bringing him back – she did everything. That lady has done everything to ensure he was well taken care of and protected,” Sait said.
“His CSK call-up should be dedicated to his parents. He has made them proud,” he added.
The Yuvraj Singh connection
Although he is a right-handed batter and off-spinner, Noronha has long admired Yuvraj Singh.
Sait recalled an incident from 2019, the day Yuvraj announced his retirement from international cricket. Before a semifinal in a private tournament, Noronha approached his coach with an unusual idea.
“That day is something I will never forget. Yuvraj had announced his retirement and we had a semifinal match in a private tournament. Noronha came to me and said, ‘Sir, I want to pay tribute to my hero Yuvraj Singh.’ I asked him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘By hitting six sixes in an over.’ I told him, ‘No, don’t try that. It is a semifinal match. If you fail, the team will suffer and lose the match.’”
Noronha went ahead with the plan anyway.
“He smashed six sixes in an over, won the match for the team and took them to the final. We also went on to win the final,” Sait said.
CSK’s growing injury list
Noronha joins CSK at a time when injuries have heavily disrupted their season. Ramakrishna Ghosh was ruled out with a foot fracture after the game against Mumbai Indians on May 2.
The franchise has also dealt with injuries to Nathan Ellis, Dewald Brevis, Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre and Jamie Overton, while MS Dhoni is yet to feature this season as he continues recovering from a calf injury.