iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
It was a mixed year for USA cricketer Saurabh Netravalkar. While he made the headlines in the first half of the year, owing to his superlative on-field performance for the national side, the year ended on a slight low for him.
The left-arm quick was relentless as Team USA managed to stun several heavyweight opponents, including Pakistan, at the ICC T20 World Cup, which was hosted jointly by the West Indies and America.
Netravalkar, a techie by profession, lead the USA attack and left cricket fans around the globe impressed. There were talks about him getting a team at the cash-rich Indian Premier League — the biggest franchise T20 cricket league in the world — during the mega auction.
However, that did not come to fruition. At the auction, which was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, no team showed interest when Netravalkar’s name was announced.
After going unsold, Netravalkar reacted to the development, stating that he had ‘hopes’.
“Firstly, grateful for getting shortlisted in the final auction list. Yes, the child in me had hopes for sure! But, it was a high-quality player pool with so many top players also failing to make the cut, so I completely understand,” the USA cricketer told TimesofIndia.com in an exclusive interview.
“Really looking forward to watch the season which I’m sure will be filled with the highest quality of cricket, and personally I’ll keep working harder and trying to get better and come back stronger hopefully next year,” he added.
His exploits earlier this year helped the sport become popular among fans in the U.S., as the team made it to the second round alongside India, the eventual winners of the coveted trophy.
“Again, very grateful for this entire season of cricket, where we got the opportunity to play against such top-quality teams at the World Cup. It made us believe that we can perform at this level if we give our best. So in that sense, the performances of myself and all my teammates really boost our self-belief in our game,” Netravalkar said.
(Photo courtesy: www.instagram.com/saurabh_netra)
