New York: In 2010, Saurabh Netravalkar faced heartbreak against Pakistan in the quarter-final of the Under-19 World Cup in Christchurch. Babar Azam was on the opposing team that day, as Pakistan narrowly defeated India by two wickets in a rain-affected thriller. Fourteen years later, Netravalkar had the chance to secure a win for the USA, in a T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan. Tasked with bowling the Super Over, Netravalkar successfully defended 18 runs, leading the USA to a famous victory and significantly boosting their chances of advancing to the next stage. If the USA makes it, they still have two more games against Ireland and India – Netravalkar may need to extend his official leave from his day job, which ends on June 17, by at least a couple of weeks. He likely won’t need to explain the reason to his American colleagues. He can simply direct them to one of the many Instagram reels about this Indian guy who moved to the USA for a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering and became a part of USA cricket folklore.
At 32, Netravalkar had long dreamt of playing for India. A talented left-arm quick, he once rattled Yuvraj Singh’s stumps at the NCA in Bengaluru in 2009 while on Air India’s sports scholarship. That performance earned him a spot in the then-prestigious BCCI Corporate Trophy, where he shared a dressing room with stars like Yuvraj, Suresh Raina, and Robin Uthappa. Among his opponents were Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. Not yet 18, Netravalkar finished the tournament and joined the Indian team for the Under-19 World Cup alongside players like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Jaydev Unadkat, Mandeep Singh, and Harshal Patel.
Playing in that tournament meant missing his first semester exams for his Computer Engineering degree. That was the first significant decision of his cricket career. Netravalkar hoped his World Cup performance, where he was India’s highest wicket-taker, would secure him a place in the senior Mumbai team and perhaps an IPL contract. However, competition was fierce with players like Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi, and a young Dhawal Kulkarni.
Saurabh Netravalkar made his first-class cricket debut for Mumbai in the 2013 Ranji Trophy. In 2014, he also started playing List A matches. He has also represented India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup. However, he did not get much opportunity to play in India and he came to America in search of better opportunities. In January 2018, he was selected in the American cricket team and in October of the same year, he became the captain of his team.
Under the leadership of Netravalkar, the US team played a series of international T20 matches against the UAE in February 2019 and in April 2019, they made it to the first four teams in the Division 2 Under-19 World Cup and also earned the status of the ODI team.
Saurabh Netravalkar participated in two rounds of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup America Qualifier tournament in 2021 and next year World Cup League tournament on behalf of the USA and also got the award of the bowler who took the most wickets in a match.
Also in 2022, he participated in the T20 World Cup qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe and managed to take five wickets in a match for the first time in a match against Singapore.
Next week, Netravalkar will face Rohit Sharma, once his senior in Mumbai cricket, and renew rivalries with Kohli. He no longer needs to prove what cricket means to him; videos of him bowling to cricketing royalty will suffice.
