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Follow UsAt this point, everyone knows everything about Saurabh Netravalkar. His unfulfilled cricket dreams in India, him living his dreams in America, his job at Oracle, his songs on his Ukulele or his house number — name an aspect of his life, and you would probably find an epic written on it.
After all, you don’t get stories like him every day where someone is living the best of both worlds, desired deeply by South Asians. But do you know that he averages just 20 with the ball after 30 T20Is? Do you know that he gives only 6.5 runs/over on average?
There’s a high chance you won’t. In this land, we create mythologies out of our thick, dusty air. So there’s an increasing propensity of stories of cricketers becoming the elephant in the room wherever they go, so much so that the room is all story, and there’s no space left for the cricketer to breathe.
So, to put those abovementioned numbers in context, Jasprit Bumrah averages 19 with an economy of 6.4. Now, take this comparison with a bucket full of salt. Netravalkar’s opposition in associate cricket and their quality are not at the same level as Bumrah.
But this slightly outlandish comparison shows how impactful Netravalkar has been for the United States of America since 2019, when he started playing T20Is for them.
No USA bowler has taken more wickets than Netravalkar in T20Is. No pacer who has played at least eight games for the USA has a better economy than him, either in the powerplay or overall. He’s the most crucial bowler in that lineup. And you know what makes him this good despite cricket being his second profession?
It’s the hard work he put into his game while playing domestic cricket in India.
Netravalkar was never an express pace bowler. His left-arm medium largely sits between the 125-135 kmph range. In fact, his ability to swing the ball is also a delayed upskilling. For him, it has always been his accuracy.
“In India, I wasn't a very big swing bowler. I used to mostly seam the ball more and just focus on my accuracy. So my strength in India was also never my pace per se. It was always my accuracy,” Netravalkar told Cricbuzz in an interview.
This T20 World Cup, Netravalkar is averaging just 13 with an economy of 5.2. Yes, the tracks were helpful for the bowlers to a very large extent, but the ball still has to be pitched in the right areas. Netravalkar, having experienced playing on underprepared tracks in associate games, knew exactly what to do — keep pitching the ball in the good and back of a good length area and keep varying the angles.
This simple stuff, along with new ball swing and meticulous planning, helped him dismiss Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. That’s why he could bowl so well in the super over against Pakistan, where he absolutely nailed his yorkers and slower deliveries which became the key to US cricket’s biggest win in their history.
Now that the USA have made it to the Super Eights, the responsibility on Netravalkar’s shoulders is even more significant. With their three games scheduled in Antigua and Barbados, Netravalkar will again be America’s lynchpin during the most challenging phases of the game - the powerplay and the death.
In Antigua, the powerplay bowling average was 18 at the start of this World Cup - one of the best for bowlers in the phase at a venue across all T20Is in the West Indies. The USA will be facing South Africa here in a few days' time, and Netravalkar, who is highly economical in the first six overs, will be primed to power through the Proteas.
Meanwhile, Netravalkar’s bowling smarts shine at the death as he uses his variation and yorkers to great effect. In a group with three of the world's most powerful T20 batting lineups — England, West Indies, and South Africa — Netravalkar’s spell will be the one the USA team will bank on.
It has been a dream journey for Netravalkar with the USA. He has captained them in the past and is their most experienced bowler, with 30 T20Is under his belt. With the expansion imminent in US cricket after this tournament, his impact and value will increase even more as others come chasing the dream that he's living.
"Hard to describe it in a couple of sentences," Netravalkar said about his journey in the ICC Mixed Zone interview after the India vs USA game.
"It’s been a journey of almost a decade. But yeah, it’s been ups and downs. I had to take a practical call at that time when I wasn’t making big in India, duly due to the competition there. I got a good offer from among the top universities, so I came here, and I am glad that god gave me another chance to play cricket."
When asked what he feels about so many fans showing up in USA jerseys and with flags to the World Cup games, the answer reflected how strongly he feels about the US game.
"It’s really heartening to see the fan base growing," the left-arm pacer said.
"People are trying to learn more about the game, they showed up in great numbers. I’m greatful for that as well. Hope it’s planting the trees for this sport in this country. Hope it grows exponentially and it reaches schools and colleges. I hope more kids will try to play the sport."
With the rise of cricket in the USA being the background of this T20 World Cup, Netravalkar has emerged as the face of cricket in a country he calls his ‘karmbhoomi' (workplace). And it’s been his good karma (read good performance) that has allowed him to be that.
At 32, when cricketing careers approach the beginning of the end, Saurabh Netravalkar has found his clear blue sky as his spirited team chases cricket’s American dream.
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