Saurabh Netravalkar has become a household name after scripting USA’s historic win over Pakistan in a T20 World Cup 2024 match in Dallas on Thursday (June 6).

The nail-biting encounter saw both teams ending their innings at the identical score of 109, necessitating the Super Over, where Netravalkar was tasked to defend 18 runs.

Even though Netravalkar was up against big hitters like Iftikhar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan, the left-arm quick held his nerves to seal the deal for USA.

Netravalkar leaked 13 runs in the Super Over and picked up the wicket of Iftikhar on the third delivery.

After his heroics against Pakistan, Saurabh Netravalkar gave a clear reply in “No” when asked if he has the aspiration to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"It is just one match and we have done well. The focus should be on the next game and frankly speaking, all of us in the United States of America cricket team, are trying to come to terms with our achievements.

"It is yet to sink in and things you are talking about, if it happens organically, it will happen. We are still trying to digest what happened," Netravalkar, who played the U-19 World Cup for India in 2010, told PTI in an exclusive chat.

A senior software engineer at Oracle, Saurabh Netravalkar has adeptly balanced his job and cricket. The 32-year-old attributed it to his love for the game and coding.

"I have never felt the pressure. When you love something, it is never a job for you. So when I am out there on the field, I love bowling and trying to out-think a batter. When I am coding, I love doing that and hence it never feels like work," he said.

"Actually, we just flew down from Dallas to New York. I will be honest that it has been quite overwhelming. I wish I could personally thank each and everyone for their lovely messages. I feel blessed."

Talking about his strategy in the Super Over, Netravalkar revealed it was to bowl wide yorkers.

"It wasn't pre-decided and only after the regulation 20 overs did skipper (Monank Patel) and coach (Stuart Law) informed me about it. I am thankful to them for showing faith in me."

"The plan was simple that I will try and bowl wide yorkers to the right handers and try to keep it out of his range as the boundary on that side was bigger. First ball the batter shifted and didn't get a wide and second ball, he stayed rooted and connected, and then, I got a couple of wides, as I was trying for wide lines.

"But I must say that 18 runs helped and all those extra runs that Harmeet (Singh) and Aaron (Jones) ran, helped. Basically, if you are defending around 20, all you need is three good balls, and the job is done. It is one of the best matches I have played."

Netravalkar acknowledged that the opportunities in professional cricket are improving in the USA, but his primary source of income remained his job at Oracle.

"The best part is that I have got very supportive bosses at Oracle and I am allowed to work remotely when I am on tour, playing for the United States.

"So on match days, I am excused from work but then there are scheduled project meetings which warrants my presence and then I work my practice schedule accordingly. I would also thank US Cricket board as they also are flexible if I have meetings lined up."

Netravalkar opened up about Oracle's bosses being supportive and how he managed to juggle between playing cricket and doing a full-time job.

"I can tell you that when I play local matches or club games in the United States, I have often logged in for a meeting at the lunch break and people have been very accommodating.

"At Oracle, they all know by now I play cricket and everyone is happy to support. I work in team Oracle text and I am primarily a coder, who works on SQL and C (programming languages)," he said.

Netravalkar admitted that facing Team India in New York on June 12 would be emotional and also praised his former Mumbai teammate Suryakumar Yadav for rising through the ranks to play for the country.

"I know all of them and Surya (Yadav) and myself have played together for Mumbai U15s, U-17, U-19s. It is so good to see what he has achieved and it will be nice to catch up with them. Playing against India would be truly emotional," he stated.

(With PTI Inputs)