Saurabh Netravalkar was the highest wicket-taker for India in 2010 U-19 World Cup and has played alongside Suryakumar Yadav for Mumbai in the domestic circuit.
New Delhi: High on confidence after upsetting heavyweight Pakistan a day before in the T20 World Cup 2024, USA’s India import Saurabh Netravalkar is excited to play India in their next fixture, stating it will be an emotional meet against the Men in Blue. Appearing in their maiden T20 World Cup, USA, who are co-hosts of the tournament, have given a major warning to others with wins over Canada and Pakistan in Group A. They play India on June 12 before taking on Ireland two days later.
Netravalkar, who works at Oracle in the USA, has been part of the Indian cricket circuit, having played for the country in the U-19 World Cup and represented Mumbai in the domestic circuit. He made his Mumbai debut under then-captain Wasim Jaffer and played alongside India star Suryakumar Yadav.
However, come next week, Netravalkar will be fighting for glory against his previous team at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. “I know all of them and Surya (Yadav) and myself have played together for Mumbai U-15s, U-17 and U-19s. It is so good to see what he has achieved and it will be nice to catch up with them. Playing against India would be truly emotional,” Netravalkar said.
Netravalkar came into spotlight when he took 30 wickets in six games in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2008-09. At the 2010 U-19 World Cup, he emerged as highest wicket-taker for India in New Zealand. However, the presence of top players like Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi made it difficult for an young Netravalkar to make his place in the senior Mumbai side on a consistent basis.
But Netravalkar’s destiny took him to USA as he got an offer to pursue his masters degree in computer engineering at the Cornell University in New York. Since then, there was no looking back for the Netravalkar as he slowly made his way into the USA national team.
On Friday, Netravalkar, played a crucial role in USA’s remarkable win over former champions Pakistan. With the match going into the Super Over, Netravalkar defended 19 runs to give his side their biggest win in the history.
On being asked if he knew he would bowl the Super Over in advance, Netravalkar said, “It wasn’t pre-decided and only after the regulation 20 overs did skipper (Monank Patel) and coach (Stuart Law) informed me about it. I am thankful to them for showing faith in me.”
“The plan was simple that I will try and bowl wide yorkers to the right handers and try to keep it out of his range as the boundary on that side was bigger. First ball the batter shifted and didn’t get a wide and second ball, he stayed rooted and connected, and then, I got a couple of wides, as I was trying for wide lines,” Netravalkar said.