United States of America has dominated other nations in the sports world. Fans have always seen that the USA has ruled the Olympics, but one sport, where the USA is yet to prove itself as a forced to be reckoned with is cricket. The American cricket team is gradually improving, and quite a few talented cricketers have emerged from the country’s domestic cricket recently. Saurabh Netravalkar, who played for India in U-19 World Cup 2010, represents USA at the international level right now.
He is a pace-bowling all-rounder who has played played 19 ODIs and 15 T20Is. Saurabh Netravalkar recently caught up with Swagcricket.com, where he spoke at length about various topics.
Here are the excerpts from Interview with Saurabh Netravalkar:
Q. Hey Saurabh! How have you been doing? How was the year 2021 for you?
Saurabh Netravalkar: I have been doing great. It was pretty much a quiet first half of the year with regard to cricket. Personally, I got to spend quality time with family. I used the time to follow my hobbies, focus on my software development work, and importantly to keep myself fit for the upcoming season.
The second half of the year had exciting things in store and turned out pretty well. We had the first edition of Minor League which we ended up as champions. We played the first domestic 50-over competition which we also ended up winning. I personally had a good ODI tour of Oman vs Oman and Nepal. We had a successful first round of T20 world cup Qualifier in Antigua, and a good end of the year series vs Ireland. Can’t ask for more. Cricket is really ramping up and the team is going to go a long way.
Q. You have captained USA cricket team, how was the experience of leading USA in 19 ODIs and 7 T20Is?
Saurabh Netravalkar: It was an honor to have been given the responsibility. I loved to work alongside multiple coaches. It’s a unique experience to work with cricketers who have grown up and learnt their cricket in diverse backgrounds and myself and coaches always focused on using that to our advantage by ensuring we help each other out and create a family atmosphere which translated to good performances.
Q. USA beat Ireland recently in a T20I match. Share some details about the atmosphere in dressing room after that historic win.
Saurabh Netravalkar: It was a big achievement which sort of validated our efforts over the last few years. What made the victory even more special was that did it without our 4 of our core batsmen. We had 4 or 5 debutants and 4 U19 players in the team who stepped up on the big stage. This sort of validates the domestic infrastructure and the youth efforts as well.
Q. Cricketers like Unmukt Chand, Corey Anderson and Sami Aslam are switching to the USA. Where do you see USA cricket team in the next 5 years?
Saurabh Netravalkar: It will definitely be a force to be reckoned with. Professionals coming in improve the quality of domestic cricket. Youngsters then look up to the professionals and step up their game as well. So hopefully, its a win-win situation and we have a strong domestic cricket circuit which will translate into national team’s success.
Q. You have played a lot of white-ball cricket. Which format is the toughest for you – ODI or T20I?
Saurabh Netravalkar: I am a purist and an old-school thinking cricketer. I still feel basic skills like bowling good lengths, being accurate are the key to success in any format. So I approach both formats similarly as a bowler. Can’t pick one.
The difference I feel is that T20 has more thrills as the game situation keep going back and forth and you have to be more switched on every ball. So for thrill factor and faster feedback I guess T20. But for satisfaction of toiling hard all day and earning a victory it would be ODI.
Q. You were the best bowler for India in ICC U-19 World Cup 2010. You dismissed Joe Root in that tournament. Let us know about your experience of playing in that World Cup.
Saurabh Netravalkar: Again was the pinnacle of mine and my families hard work and sacrifices over the years since the age of 10. Always a special feeling to have finally earned the India Jersey which I had dreamt off since my childhood. Glad to see so many cricketers of that batch becoming world renown cricketers.
Q. Teams like Namibia and Scotland impressed everyone in T20 World Cup 2021. How do you think the associate nations can grow in the coming years?
Saurabh Netravalkar: The associate cricket teams are also coming up well in late years. More associate cricketers are now playing alongside full-member professionals in various leagues across the world as well which helps player development as well. I think more exposure to playing full-member nations should be given, maybe as pre-season games just like we did with Ireland before they travelled to West Indies.
Q. Who is your cricketing idol?
Saurabh Netravalkar: Combination of Glenn McGrath (Accuracy and work ethic), Wasim Akram and Zaheer Khan (Skills), Rahul Dravid (As an Ambassador of the game).
Q. If given a chance to play for an IPL team, which team would you like to play for?
Saurabh Netravalkar: I love all the teams!
