Hyderabad/Dallas (United States): The United States, which is co-hosting the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, created a major upset when they defeated Pakistan in their A league game in Dallas in the wee hours of Thursday. The architect of the US win was an Indian Techie, who played for the India U-19 before migration to the United States - Saurabh Netravalkar.
The US and Pakistan went into the Super Over after scores were tied and then the USA hammered 18 runs in their six balls and left-arm pacer Netravalkar successfully defended those runs and celebrations erupted in the USA camp. This was also USA's second win on the trot after beating Canada in the first game of the tournament.
The Journey of Saurabh Naresh Netravalkar is of immense grit. According to Netravalkar's profile on X, he is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Oracle. Netrvalkar started his cricketing career in the megacity of Mumbai and he has even played a Ranji Trophy game for the 42-time Ranji Trophy champions. The only First-class match that he played was for Mumbai against Karnataka held at Bengaluru in December 2013. He had played with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, Wasim Jaffer, and Shardul Thakur when he played his lone Ranji Trophy game.
Since then Netravalkar has come a long way. He decided to pursue higher studies and moved to the US. The decision was fruitful as he not only made the cut to the US team but also captained it. He is a vital cog for the co-hosts.
The left-arm pacer represented India in the U-19 World Cup in 2010 and has played with the likes of KL Rahul, Jaydev Unadkat and others. The pacer has represented a wide range of teams - USA, Gulf Giants, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Washington Freedom, India U-19 and Mumbai.
Former Mumbai Ranji Trophy-winning captain Aditya Tare told ETV Bharat that he was happy for the success of Netravalkar, with whom he had played in the Ranji Trophy.
"He (Netravalkar) has a good temperament and he knows his strengths and weaknesses. He places the field accordingly and bowls to it. He is an extremely professional cricketer. When he was in Mumbai, he kept himself low-key and focused on the game," said Tare, who has played a staggering 95 First Class Games.
Tare said that Netravalkar toiled hard and pursued his dream of playing in a World Cup. "He shifted to the United States and became a techie but kept pursuing his passion which was cricket. And he fulfilled his dream. Even yesterday (in the game against Pakistan), he bowled according to the field. I am extremely happy for the success he has achieved. For me, he kept his passion for the game alive and that was very important," added Tare, who has also played 86 List A matches.
Senior sports journalist and cricket administrator Makarand Waingankar described the left-arm pacer as a street-smart cricketer. "If Netravalkar is eligible for the IPL auction teams will definitely bid for him. He has always been a street-smart cricketer," Waingankar wrote on X.
Mumbai Cricket Association office bearer and renowned umpire Ganesh Iyer told ETV Bharat that Saurabh was a good student and perfectly blended academics and sports.
"Since he was a good student he could learn the nitty gritties of the game faster than the others. At a time he could have continued to play for Mumbai (in the Ranji Trophy), he took a conscious decision to shift to the US and that worked wonders. He led the Mumbai age group teams. He went to the US for higher education and at the same time excelled in the sport. He hails from the Malad area of Mumbai," added Iyer, a well-known name on Mumbai cricketing circles.
