WESTBURY, N.Y. — At 18, Saurabh Netravalkar’s ambition was to play cricket at the highest level for India. That never happened.
But at 32, the software engineer at Redwood Shores’ Oracle will get the chance to bowl against his country of birth at the Twenty20 World Cup while helping generate interest for his sport in the United States.
The left-arm bowler will be watched nervously by a billion cricket fans back home in India when his Cinderella U.S. national team faces the world’s top-ranked team on Wednesday morning (7:30 a.m. Pacific) at Long Island’s Nassau County International Stadium.
Netravalkar and his U.S. teammates already completed one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport when they stunned Pakistan in its second match of the month-long international tournament.
This is a shortened version of a game that can last five days, played in about three hours. But that hasn’t diminished the significance of the stunning win in a sport viewed in the U.S. largely as a curiosity – if at all.
It was an attention grabber around the globe, and as the bowler – similar to the pitcher in baseball – Netravalkar was front and center.
“I will be honest that it has been quite overwhelming,” Netravalkar told India’s The Economic Times. “I wish I could personally thank each and everyone for their lovely messages. I feel blessed.”
Indian broadcaster Star Sports was promoting the game as a clash between Mumbai-born Netravalkar and another U.S. player of Indian heritage, Alabama-born Nosthush Kenjige, and India superstar batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Netravalkar did play at a junior level for India. He was among 15 players who represented India at the Under-19 World Cup in 2009-10, with Lokesh Rahul the most prominent name from that squad. Five others went on to make international appearances and all received Indian Premier League contracts.
Making it big like that in cricket is the ultimate dream for most Indian youngsters. But when it doesn’t pan out, most lack a backup plan.
Netravalkar had a plan.
He duly packed his bags for the U.S., where he did a master’s degree in computer engineering at Cornell University. That was in 2015, when he didn’t even own a pair of cricket shoes.
A decade later, Netravalkar bowled his team over former champions Pakistan. The game was tied through regulation, and Netravalkar came on in the Super Over (overtime) to preserve a slim U.S. lead.
“I have never felt the pressure,” he told the Economic Times. “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.”
Netravalkar played for the Washington Freedom in the U.S.-based Major League Cricket League that debuted last summer and includes the San Francisco Unicorns. He’s also the co-founder of CricDeCode, a cricket-centric app.
But his “bread and butter” comes from his work as a techie at Oracle, where he’s been since 2016.
There have been times during local or club games that Netravalkar has pulled out his laptop and logged in to work meetings during a lunch break.
“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,” he told The Economic Times. “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.”
Netravalkar won’t be taking any meetings on Wednesday. But millions of viewers will be tuning in around the globe to see what’s next for the U.S.
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“I always said that we could beat a top nation. I saw the way the boys are playing over the last month or so. This is not really surprising to me,” U.S. team manager Kerk Higgins told the BBC after the win against Pakistan.
India and the U.S. top Group A with two wins each.
The U.S. needs one win in its remaining two games — they conclude group play against Ireland on Friday — to confirm its spot in the Super Eight. That would be a milestone for the game in the country.
“It is just one match and we have done well,” Netravalkar told The Economic Times. “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.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.