India’s Saurabh Walkar, the performance analyst of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy-winning team, aged 38, will be lending his expertise to New Zealand (NZ) cricket team as they are set to compete in the ICC ODI World Cup scheduled for October-November 2023 in India.
Must note that the New Zealand cricket team will commence their ICC ODI World Cup 2023 campaign against the defending champions England, in Ahmedabad on October 5.
Meanwhile, Saurabh Walkar is presently busy with the Jos Buttler-led Manchester Originals team in The Hundred league in the UK. His experience with the Manchester Originals could bring valuable insights to the New Zealand team during the upcoming World Cup.
Saurabh Walkar’s new assignment with New Zealand will kick off with the T20I game against England at Chester-le-Street on August 30. However, his primary responsibility will be to prepare the Kiwis for the challenges they will face during the ICC ODI World Cup in India.
Walkar shared his insights, stating that Indian pitches will play a crucial role in the tournament, and he will be focusing on analyzing and strategizing around these pitches and that being part of the NZ team is a significant opportunity for him, and he’s looking forward to contributing to their World Cup campaign.
Saurabh Walkar’s journey has been quite fascinating. He left his engineering studies in Electronics and Telecommunications in 2006 to pursue a one-year course in sports biomechanics in Chennai.
In 2007, he joined the Mumbai team as an intern to assist performance analyst Venkatesh Gurumurthy. He continued with the Mumbai team for eight years and also worked with other leagues, including the IPL with Rajasthan Royals and the Afghanistan team during the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE.
The upcoming match against India at Dharamsala on October 22 will undoubtedly be a significant challenge for Walkar. He has already started his preparation on all teams, particularly India, as the Kiwis are looking for special insights about the Indian players from him.
Walkar has prior experience working with players like Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and others during his time with the Mumbai senior team. He aims to assist New Zealand’s head coach, Gary Stead, during the World Cup.
Walkar credits his progress to Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit, and the current Mumbai head coach Omkar Salvi, for their support and mentorship. Their influence has contributed to his growth in the field of performance analysis.
