Last Updated on 1 month by Charbel Coorey
Saurabh Netravalkar was unarguably one of the most prominent cricketers of 2024. As far as associate nations are concerned, there haven’t been too many cricketers who
have grabbed the headlines like the USA pacer. During the T20 World Cup 2024,
Netravalkar went on to become an overnight sensation.
His performance during the tournament managed to impress fans across the globe.
Moreover, his ability to multitask between his career as a cricketer and his full-time profession as a software engineer for Oracle led to appreciation by the cricketing fraternity. It is to be noted that after being the leading wicket-taker for India in the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, he then made his first-class debut for Mumbai in 2012/13. It was in 2015 when he moved to the United States of America (USA) to pursue his post graduation in computer science.
The fact that he completed his master’s at Cornell University, which is widely regarded
as one of the best universities in the world, is nothing short of marvellous. Post which,
he made his international debut for the USA in 2019.
During an exclusive interview with Arvind Kalyana Krishnan, the star pacer drew light on his struggles as an immigrant and his journey as an American cricketer. Netravalkar spoke about the challenges he and his teammates had to face during their initial days. Further on, he also named his favourite bowlers of all time as well as of this era.
Netravalkar also revealed more information about his interactions with Rohit Sharma and the Indian team during the ICC T20 WC 2024.
Netravalkar had picked the wickets of Sharma as well as Virat Kohli during the
encounter between India and USA in the ICC tournament. Lastly, the 33-year-old said
that he was following the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 as well.
Saurabh Netravalkar interview: Bumrah, Hazlewood, Arshdeep my favourite bowlers of current era
Below is the entire interview with Saurabh Netravalkar:
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: You migrated to a new country and now play for the United
States of America. Could you draw light on the challenges you had to overcome as an
immigrant and how you became an international cricketer for the United States of
America?
Saurabh Netravalkar: The challenges are unique:
- Players come from diverse cultural backgrounds and the way we work together
towards our common love for cricket is our strength. - Geographically USA is a vast country. Hence it’s not possible for us to get together
often as a team. So most of us train with limited facilities, mostly indoor synthetic
pitches and in our own respective local gyms and parks for fitness and get together few
days before an international tour. - Doing the best out of limited resources is the challenge in USA, but gradually things
are getting better with more competitive tournaments like Major League Cricket and more international cricket exposure.
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: Who’s your favourite bowler/Who are your favourite bowlers
from the current era?
Saurabh Netravalkar: All time- Glen McGrath, Wasim Akram, Zaheer Khan, James
Anderson. Current Era- Bumrah, Hazelwood, Arshdeep
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: You recently dismissed both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Did you manage to speak to either of them
after that? Could you speak about some of the conversations you had wi”h Rohit
Sharma, Virat Kohli, or any of the other Indian cricketers during that match/after that
match?
Saurabh Netravalkar: Managed to talk to Rohit as I knew him since my days in
Mumbai. Mostly about growth of the game in USA, some cricketing conversations about the game and the World Cup in general. After the game, had a greeting exchange with all members of the Indian team and it was a very nice feeling to meet everyone.
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: Are you following the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy
2024-25? What are your thoughts and what are your predictions for the series?
Saurabh Netravalkar: Yes, I’m watching. Sometimes live, sometimes highlights based
on my schedule. No predictions, I just love watching good competitive cricket between
top teams.
