‘Suryakumar Yadav has been a close friend…he got a chance to play for India later than I expected:’ USA cricketer Saurabh Netravalkar

USA’s Saurabh Netravalkar was the key man behind the United States win over Pakistan in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The left-arm seamer not only bowled a composed super over defending just 18 runs but also picked up crucial wickets during the game of Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed.

Ahead of the United States clash against India The 32-year-old recalled his playing days for Mumbai State side and revealed Suryakumar Yadav and him were close friends. “Suryakumar has been a close friend, actually. I’ve seen him since our under-15 days; we kind of grew up playing for Mumbai together. He was always special, scoring double hundreds and stuff in under-15 and under-17 matches,” Netravalkar said speaking on Star Sports.

“He got a chance to play for India later than I expected, but I’m really happy for him. I’m excited to meet him, and it’s an opportunity to play not just against him but also against a lot of the guys we played with. I don’t know how to get Surya out, but I think I’ll just try to do my role, what the team needs me to do,” Netravalkar added.

Journey from Mumbai to USA cricketer

Netravalkar used to play for Mumbai Ranji team till 2014 when dark thoughts about future hit him. “How much cricket can I play? Till 35, maybe… but there is no guarantee. There is no growth too.” A software engineer who even designed his own cricket app, he decided at age of 22 to take up the scholarship from a US university. The move, he thought, would be the end of his cricket career.

It was a West Indian, Lloyd Jodah, who rekindled the cricket dream in Netravalkar. “I never thought I will play cricket again but after coming to US, I got to know there was cricket in my college. There was a coach named Lloyd Jodah who saw me bowl and asked whether I played decent cricket. Then he recommended me to different clubs here,” Netravalkar said.

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