Saurabh Netravalkar, a USA pacer who was born in Mumbai, has imagined his full circle moment when he takes the field for his team’s opening T20 World Cup match against India on February 7 at Wankhede Stadium, the venue where his cricket career started before he left “home” for a different career.
The 34-year-old left-arm pacer participated in a first-class match for Mumbai in 2013 among players like Shardul Thakur and Suryakumar Yadav, but despite playing for India in the 2010 U-19 World Cup, he was unable to advance to the Indian squad.
After receiving an offer for a master’s degree in computer science from the esteemed Cornell University in 2015, Netravalkar ultimately made the decision to continue his education in the United States. Netravalkar had never considered playing cricket again given the road he had chosen for himself, but destiny made sure he was reconnected with the game he had begun on Mumbai’s bustling streets.
Netravalkar, now a key member of the USA team and a standout player in their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, believes that when he takes the field at Wankhede, his emotions may overcome him.
“I wouldn’t know how I would react there. But it is an emotional moment, for sure. Kind of like a full circle moment because I started playing cricket in Mumbai and gave up on the sport and moved to the US and never even expected to play cricket again. International (cricket) wasn’t even a thought,” a PTI report quoted him saying from Colombo where the USA squad is training.
“So, it’s like a second innings, that cricket gave me that chance and brought me back to Mumbai. So, in that sense, it’s nostalgic and emotional, but it’s not playing on my mind per se.”
When asked if he had imagined performing in front of his family and friends at the venue, Netravalkar, who continues to juggle between cricket and his coding job at IT giant Oracle, said, “Kind of, yes. I wouldn’t say in this particular way, but as a kid, obviously, growing up in Mumbai, I have always, since I started playing cricket, dreamt about playing for the country and hopefully at Wankhede. We’ve been training at Wankhede since our under-15 days. Very grateful that this opportunity has come about whilst playing for the USA. My family and friends will be there. So yeah, I am looking forward to giving my best effort.”
The subcontinent’s batting-friendly conditions make bowlers’ jobs considerably more difficult. The conditions of the previous edition, which was hosted in the USA and the Caribbean, made things a little simpler for the bowlers.
For the three group matches in India and one against Pakistan in Colombo, Netravalkar, who is renowned for producing swing with the new ball and yorkers in the final overs, has prepared his strategies.
“On flatter wickets, more than the skills, obviously, you have your weapons and you keep developing different kinds of slower balls and hope that the ball swings with the new ball. That is unpredictable as well. It depends on the conditions. If you’re playing under lights, dew becomes a factor here. So, we also need to practice bowling with the wetter ball.
“Yeah, and then you just have your plan A, plan B ready. So, I think we picked a good location to train at (three weeks in Sri Lanka). We also have two warm-up games at DY Patil before we play the opening game of the World Cup. So, we will have exposure to flatter wickets and yeah, it will be a different challenge for me especially,” said Netravalkar.
The USA surpassed expectations by making it to the Super 8 stage in 2024 after shocking Pakistan in their first World Cup. Expectations are higher this time around from a team primarily composed of cricket players of Indian and Pakistani descent, given their outstanding run.
Netravalkar is happy with the rising trend of cricket in the US, even though there is still a long way to go until the country has top-notch infrastructure for the sport.
‘I think we’ve gone up, you could say for sure. You can see eight or nine or even more of our cricketers are getting gigs in franchise leagues around the world. So, that is a good benchmark to sort of evaluate that our skills are being appreciated.
“Major league cricket as well, a lot of local players were in the top run getters, top wicket takers. We have 19, 20, 21-year-olds also making the team. So I think the system is slowly forming. I would still say we have a long way to go (in terms of building infrastructure throughout the USA). But definitely, we can see the progress since the last World Cup,” he added.
