United States of America qualifies for the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup, taking place in the USA and the West Indies. The key player that helped the USA team to create history is an Indian-born cricketer, Saurabh Netravalkar. He played a major role in defeating Pakistan in the game where the result came after super over on June 6, 2024.
The USA has played all four matches of the group stage and currently stands in second position with five points. Even if Pakistan wins its last group match against Ireland, it will have four points which is not enough for the qualification. Amid all this, one question that has attracted the most attention is who is Saurabh Netravalkar, the man behind the USA’s success?
Who is Saurabh Netravalkar?
Saurabh Naresh Netravalkar is an Indian-born cricketer and software engineer who is currently playing for the USA team. He is a left-arm medium-fast bowler who once represented the Indian U-19 cricket team. He made his first-class debut in 2013-14 in the Ranji Trophy on December 22, 2013, and played his first List A match on February 27, 2014 for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023-24.
The surprising thing about Netravalkar is that he is not a full-time cricketer, he works for Oracle and is on an H1B visa. His LinkedIn profile reveals that he is currently working as a principal member of technical staff.
Saurabh Netravalkar Early Life
Netravalkar completed his early education from Sardar Patel Institute of Technology and later he studied at Cornell University. When he was 23, he moved to the USA for further studies in software engineering as he had been passionate about coding since his younger days. In August 2015, he received an offer for admission from Cornell University in New York.
After coding his second love has always been cricket and his keen interest in cricket helped him develop a player analysis application, CricDecode. He was offered a job by Oracle in San Francisco after he completed his graduation.
Saurabh Netravalkar Career
Saurabh Netravalkar was spotted by BCCI for the first time in 2009 when he rattled the stumps of Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh. His disciplined bowling gained attention among the cricket fraternity and ultimately he was provided an opportunity to play in the prestigious BCCI Corporate Trophy, where he shared the dressing room with Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, and Suresh Raina. In that series, he was the joint-highest wicket-taker. His continuous performances helped him to represent India in the U-19 World Cup 2010.
Despite continuous good performances, he failed to get into the Indian Cricket team or the Mumbai team, as these teams are already full of pace attack lined up such as Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi, Ajit Agarkar, and Dhawal Kulkarni. However, his dream was fulfilled when he made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2013 and guaranteed regular Mumbai’s playing XI but he couldn’t find a place in the playing XI due to even more formidable pacers in the lineup. During that time, he also quit his day job as a software testing engineer in Pune to pursue his career as a cricketer.
However, he gained international fame on June 6, 2024, when he became an overnight sensation after playing a pivotal role in a victory against Pakistan with his exceptional bowling in the super over while defending 18 runs. That victory lifted the USA to the top of the points table. In another group match, played against India, he took the two most important wickets of team India, i.e., Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which showed the world who is Saurabh Netravalkar.
Netravalkar perfectly balances his job and passion
Nidhi Netravalkar, sister of Saurabh Netravalkar recently revealed how he balances both cricket and his job as he is extremely passionate about his job as well. In an interview with News18, Nidhi reveals that he works in the hotel after the matches.
She also said that he is fortunate to have such supporting people around him throughout his career. “He knows that when he’s not playing cricket, he has to give 100 per cent to the job. So right now, when he’s working, he carries his laptop everywhere. And he has the freedom to work from anywhere,” Nidhi told News 18.
Netravalkar has been gaining lots of praise from across the world for managing work and cricket balance brilliantly. The fast bowler is currently on leave for the T20 World Cup 2024. His sister also said that growing up in Mumbai instilled a ‘hustle culture’ in him.
I hope this article has helped you get an idea about who is Saurabh Netravalkar, a recent cricket sensation from the USA.