India-born American medium pacer Saurabh Netravalkar had a happy reunion with his former Mumbai teammates Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav when India clashed with the USA in the T20 World Cup 2024.
USA gave a tough fight to India while defending 110 runs as Netravalkar starred by removing Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (3) in his first two overs. However, Suryakumar Yadav’s 50* and Shivam Dube’s 31* were enough for India to win by 7 wickets and qualify for Super 8s.
Earlier, Arshdeep Singh took 4/9 and Hardik Pandya took two wickets as India restricted USA to 110/8.
Netravalkar has been close to Suryakumar as the two played together for Mumbai. He was seen having a long chat with the swashbuckler and India captain Rohit after the match.
“I met them after more than a decade. It was special. We were remembering old times because we played since childhood in U-15, and U-17. It felt like we carried on from where we left off. Jokes from those times, casual conversations, and dressing room banter,” Netravalkar revealed in a media interaction after the game.
“I did talk to Rohit Sharma, who was my senior in Mumbai. I’ve played with him there. I haven’t played much with Virat, but he acknowledged our efforts after the game. It’s good that they see potential in this team,” he said.
The 32-year-old Oracle employee represented India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup before coming to the United States on a scholarship to study at the famous Cornell University.
From authoring a stunning Super Over win over Pakistan to removing Virat Kohli for a golden duck, the late bloomer admits he is still processing everything.
“I’m still digesting what is happening right now. The last two games have been very high-profile. I’m glad we have done well as a unit. Always happy being myself, irrespective of the situation. It was about being clear with our plans and executing our processes rather than thinking about who we were facing and what the result would be. I’m glad that first spell worked for me,” Netravalkar said.
Asked how he affected Kohli’s dismissal, Netravalkar said: “That’s my stock ball. I don’t want to give too much away. For the first ball, I tried to hit the top of the off-stump, as simple as that. I didn’t try to do anything special or get a wicket. It was a good ball and seamed nicely.”
Asked about his journey, he said it’s hard to describe it in a few sentences.
“It’s been a journey of almost a decade with ups and downs. I had to take a practical call when I wasn’t making it big in India due to the strong competition there. I got a good offer from one of the top universities, so I thought it was practical to pursue my other love and come here. I’m glad that God has given me another chance to pursue cricket again,” he said.
(PTI inputs)
