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Saurabh Netravalkar

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Saurabh Netravalkar
Personal information
Full name
Saurabh Naresh Netravalkar
Born (1991-10-16) October 16, 1991 (age 32)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
BattingRight-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast-medium
RoleBowler
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 20)April 27, 2019 v PNG
Last ODIJuly 6, 2023 v UAE
ODI shirt no.20
T20I debut (cap 6)March 15, 2019 v UAE
Last T20IJune 6, 2024 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2023-presentWashington Freedom
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 48 20 1 80
Runs scored 139 34 3 237
Batting average 9.26 8.50 1.50 7.90
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 19* 12 3 22
Balls bowled 2,458 378 192 4,163
Wickets 73 20 3 117
Bowling average 22.27 20.94 25.66 24.84
5 wickets in innings 2 1 0 2
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 5/32 5/12 2/42 5/32
Catches/stumpings 15/– 6/– 1/– 21/–
Source: Cricinfo, 3 March 2024

Saurabh Naresh Netravalkar (born October 16, 1991) is an Indian-born cricketer and software engineer[1] who plays for the United States team. He is a left-arm medium-fast bowler who represented the India under-19 team.[2] He made his first-class debut for Mumbai in the 2013–14 Ranji Trophy on December 22, 2013.[3] He made his List A debut on February 27, 2014, for Mumbai in the 2013–14 Vijay Hazare Trophy.[4]

Netravalkar is presently working for Oracle and is on H1B visa.[5][6] According to his Linkedin profile he currently works in Oracle as principal member of the technical staff.[7] While he played for Mumbai in the Ranji trophy and other domestic tournaments, but later alleged lack of opportunities and better chances in the USA, hence he moved there. Players such as Unmukt Chand and others did same.

Early life and education[edit]

Netravalkar studied at Sardar Patel Institute of Technology and later at Cornell University.[8] He moved to USA in 2015 to pursue his higher studies at the age of 23 in software engineering as he was passionate about coding since his younger days. He received an offer for admission from Cornell University in New York in August 2015. His strong academic credentials and keen interest in cricket, which helped him develop a player-analysis app CricDecode, had earned him a scholarship which was financially lucrative for him to make full use of his skillsets. As he finished graduate school, Netravalkar was soon offered a job by Oracle in San Francisco.

Career[edit]

Junior Cricket[edit]

His talent was spotted when he rattled the stumps of fellow Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh with his disciplined spell of bowling at the NCA in Bengaluru while he was on Air India's sports scholarship in 2009. His delivery to dismiss Yuvraj Singh eventually caught the attention among cricketing fraternity which landed him an opportunity to play in the coveted prestigious BCCI Corporate Trophy where he even shared dressing room with Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina. He eventually ended up the BCCI Corporate Trophy as the joint highest wicket-taker. He grew leaps and bounds with his bowling at the 2008/09 Cooch Behar Trophy where he took a tally of 30 scalps in just a space of 6 matches.[9] He also spearheaded India's bowling unit in an Under-19 tri-nation series which was held in South Africa in lead up to the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup by taking 8 wickets.[10]

He represented India in the 2010 U19 World Cup while playing for India U19. In the tournament he played alongside KL Rahul, Jaydev Unadkat and Mayank Agarwal who later played for the Indian national cricket team. He also sacrificed his academic participation in order to take part at the 2010 ICC U19 World Cup as he had to miss entire first semester exams of his Computer Engineering degree which he actually committed to six months earlier than the start of the tournament. His sacrifice initially paid rich dividends as he ended up the 2010 U19 World Cup as the leading wicket taker of the tournament for India capturing nine wickets in as many as six matches with a bowling average of 17.22. India were eventually knocked out in the quarter-final by their arch-rivals Pakistan in a rain affected match which ended up in a thrilling fashion.[11][12] Despite his memorable performances with the ball, he really couldn't crack into the India national cricket team and also he really couldn't make into the Mumbai team as it was already a pace heavy star studded lineup which had the likes of Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi, Ajit Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni.[13] Netravalkar finally made his dreams alive when he made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2013, but he was not a guaranteed regular in the Mumbai's playing XI as he was often left out due to the presence of even more formidable pacers in the lineup and he was in and out of the set-up for some years. He also quit his dayjob as a software testing engineer in Pune in order to pursue his cricketing ambitions.

International cricket[edit]

In 2016, he turned up for the North West Region at the USACA National Championship. He went out to seek opportunities to play as much as possible when the ICC lowered their minimum residency for eligibility from four years to three. He delivered a clinical spell for Southern California Cricket Association XI against a USA XI in a national-team warm-up match in the summer of 2017 which literally caught the attention of the then head coach of US national team Pubudu Dassanayake.[14]

In January 2018, he got selected in the United States national cricket team for the 2017–18 Regional Super50 tournament in the West Indies.[15] He eventually made his List A debut in American colours against Leeward Islands where he took 2 for 45 in 10 overs, although USA were hammered by a margin of 162 runs.[16] In August 2018, he was named in the United States' squad for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Americas Qualifier tournament in Morrisville, North Carolina.[17] In October 2018, USA Cricket appointed him as the captain of the United States team for the 2018–19 Regional Super50 tournament in the West Indies and the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Oman.[18][19]

In February 2019, he became US's captain in Twenty20 International (T20I). He led them in a series against UAE.[20][21] The matches were the first T20I fixtures to be played by the United States national team.[22] He debuted in T20I in that series on 15 March 2019.[23] Further the USA cricket association announced him as their captain for Division 2 U19 World Cup, Namibia in April 2019.[24] The US finished in the top four places in the tournament, therefore gaining One Day International (ODI) status.[25] Netravalkar made his ODI debut for the United States on 27 April 2019, against Papua New Guinea, in the tournament's third-place playoff.[26]

In June 2019, he got selected in a 30-man training squad for the United States cricket team, ahead of the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament in Bermuda.[27] The following month, he was one of twelve players to sign a three-month central contract with USA Cricket.[28] In August 2019, his name was announced as the captain of the United States' team for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament.[29]

In November 2019, he led US in the 2019–20 Regional Super50 tournament.[30] Following to this he played and captained United States's in the 2019 United Arab Emirates Tri-Nation Series.[31] In the opening match of the series, against the United Arab Emirates, he took five wickets for 32 runs. He became the first bowler for the United States to take a five-wicket haul in an ODI match.[32] In September 2020, he was signed by the Golden State Grizzlies team for the 2021 Minor League Cricket season.[33]

In October 2021, he played in 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier tournament in Antigua.[34] In May 2022, he was part of the team which participated in round 12 and round 13 of the 2019–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament.[35] In the second match of the twelfth round, he became the USA's leading wicket-taker in limited overs cricket.[36]

In June 2022, he played in 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B tournament in Zimbabwe.[37] In the USA's second match of the tournament, against Singapore, he became the first bowler for the United States to take a five-wicket haul in a T20I match.[38]

On 6 June 2024, Netravalkar gained international fame and became an overnight sensation after playing a pivotal role in engineering a famous victory against Pakistan by bowling the super over during the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[14] He successfully defended 18 runs in the super over to help America register a remarkable upset victory over much fancied opponents in the calibre of Pakistan and it also marked America's second consecutive win in the tournament.[39] The victory also eventually lifted America to the top of the table in their Group and it also increased the qualification scenario as far as USA are concerned when it comes to the Super Eight round.[40] Following his splendid performance, his colleagues at Oracle wished him and acknowledged his achievement in cricket and he has apparently took office leave until 17 June 2024 according to some reports.[10][41] Following his performance with the ball, critics hailed his achievement as something similar to a sweet revenge going back to reflecting about India Under-19's defeat to Pakistan at 2010 U19 Cricket World Cup where Natravalkar was on the receiving end in that India's defeat and coincidentally Babar Azam was on the winning side during that game. Netravalkar had also bowled well by picking up 2/18 in his four over spell prior to his super over exploits against Pakistan.

Domestic and franchise cricket[edit]

In March 2023, Netravalkar was picked by the Washington Freedom in the player's draft to play in Major League Cricket. He eventually ended up the tournament as the third highest wicket-taker of the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket Tournament in 2023 season which also included a spell of 6/9 came against San Francisco Unicorns.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Oracle techie, USA cricket star: Saurabh Netravalkar is the envy of many on social media". India Today. June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Saurabh Netravalkar". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  3. ^ "Group A, Ranji Trophy at Bengaluru, Dec 22-25 2013". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "West Zone, Rajkot, Feb 27 2014, Vijay Hazare Trophy". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "Saurabh Netravalkar memes are gold: 'Without H-1B Visa, US wouldn't have beaten Pak'". India Today. June 7, 2024.
  6. ^ "Saurabh Netravalkar memes are gold: 'Without H-1B Visa, US wouldn't have beaten Pak'". India Today. June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  7. ^ "LinkedIn Profile Of Saurabh Netravalkar, USA's Match-Winner Against Pakistan, Goes Viral | Cricket News". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  8. ^ "Ex-India U-19 star. Software engineer. US cricket captain - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  9. ^ Acharya, Shayan (June 7, 2024). "From Malad to San Francisco: Saurabh Netravalkar finally has his moment under the sun". Sportstar. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Saurabh Netravalkar's Company Oracle Reacts To Employee's T20 World Cup Heroics. It Is Viral | Cricket News". NDTVSports.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  11. ^ "IND19 vs PAK19 Cricket Scorecard, 26th Match, 4th Quarter-Final at Lincoln, January 23, 2010". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  12. ^ "Pakistan prevail in thrilling climax". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  13. ^ https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/saurabh-netravalkar-a-coder-and-cricketer-living-the-american-dream-101717776160163.html
  14. ^ a b "From computers to cricket: how Saurabh Netravalkar coded USA's greatest script". ESPNcricinfo. June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  15. ^ "Two former India U-19s, ex-WI batsman Marshall named in USA squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  16. ^ "LWD vs USA Cricket Scorecard, Group B at Coolidge, January 31, 2018". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  17. ^ "Team USA Squad Selected for ICC World T20 Americas' Qualifier". USA Cricket. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
  18. ^ "Khaleel sacked, Netravalkar named captain for USA's Super50 squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  19. ^ "Hayden Walsh Jr, Aaron Jones in USA squad for WCL Division Three". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "Xavier Marshall recalled for USA's T20I tour of UAE". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  21. ^ "Team USA squad announced for historic Dubai tour". USA Cricket. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  22. ^ "USA name squad for first-ever T20I". International Cricket Council. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  23. ^ "1st T20I, United States of America tour of United Arab Emirates at Dubai, Mar 15 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  24. ^ "All to play for in last ever World Cricket League tournament". International Cricket Council. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  25. ^ "Oman and USA secure ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 places and ODI status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  26. ^ "3rd Place Playoff, ICC World Cricket League Division Two at Windhoek, Apr 27 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  27. ^ "Former SA pacer Rusty Theron named in USA squad". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  28. ^ "Five USA players get 12-month contracts; three pull out of Global T20 Canada". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  29. ^ "Team USA Squad Announced for ICC T20 World Cup Americas' Regional Final". USA Cricket. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  30. ^ "Team USA Men's Squad Announced for return to Cricket West Indies Super50 tournament". USA Cricket. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  31. ^ "Team USA Men's Squad Announced for ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 series in UAE". USA Cricket. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  32. ^ "Jones, Netravalkar star to give USA early lift off". CricBuzz. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  33. ^ usacricket (September 2, 2020). "17 of the 24 Squads Confirmed as Inaugural Minor League Cricket Draft is completed". USA Cricket. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  34. ^ "Team USA Men's Squad Named for T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Antigua". USA Cricket. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  35. ^ "Team USA men's squad named for home ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 series". USA Cricket. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  36. ^ "Berrington's belligerence, Saurabh's service: League 2 talking points". International Cricket Council. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  37. ^ "USA name squad for T20 World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe". USA Cricket. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  38. ^ "T20 World Cup Qualifier B Wrap: Day 2". International Cricket Council. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  39. ^ "T20 World Cup 2024: Fans praise US cricketer Saurabh Netravalkar after stunning victory against Pakistan". The Indian Express. June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  40. ^ "Malad to Dallas: Saurabh Netravalkar cracks the code". The Times of India. June 8, 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  41. ^ "Saurabh Netravalkar: I have got very supportive bosses, allowed to work remotely when playing for USA". The Times of India. June 7, 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved June 8, 2024.

External links[edit]

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