The rise of Saurabh Netravalkar to international cricket has been nothing short of phenomenal, all the more so since he has been living a double life as a cricketer-cum-software engineer. This Indian-born cricketer rose into limelight only after his scintillating performance during T20 World Cup 2024 for the United States of America and played the cameo role for the historic victory over Pakistan by delivering a clutch performance in the Super Over. Since then, Netravalkar has juggled his professional life with cricketing commitments quite diligently.
In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, Saurabh Netravalkar went on to detail out the trials of balancing studies with cricket. For the uninitiated, the 32-year-old is currently a software engineer at Oracle in USAโincidentally, a highly demanding role he has somehow managed to juggle with his international cricketing commitments all too well.
WATCH – Bhuvneshwar Kumar Surprises Wife Nupur Nagar With A Heartwarming Birthday Celebration
Before moving to the United States, Saurabh Netravalkar had represented India at the Under-19 level, so the talent was there from an early age. He narrated an anecdote from his first semester in engineering, which coincided with the Under-19 World Cup in 2010. He got selected to represent India but had to miss four out of six exams, resulting in what is known as a KT, Allowed to Keep Terms.
‘๐๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ซ-๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ”
Saurabh Netravalkar reflected on how balancing his studies and cricket
Read: https://t.co/FJeXrCQniK pic.twitter.com/bsaBFrhRfl
โ CricTracker (@Cricketracker) August 17, 2024
ย
Despite the setback, Saurab Netravalkar was undeterred. He said, referring to that time, “My first-semester engineering exam clashed with the Under-19 World Cup.ย I got picked for the U19 World Cup for the Indian team in 2010 and I had to miss four of my six exams in the first semester. And I got a KT. Next semester, I gave like 10 exams in a row and there was no tournament. So, it was both, a mix of me willing to work harder and try to sacrifice a little bit of other things. But I used to love these two things. I was ready to do whatever it takes to pursue cricket and education.”
ALSO READ: CSK CEO Clarifies Stance On โUncapped Player Ruleโ Amid BCCI Discussions For IPL 2025
Netravalkar’s cricketing statistics are equally imposing. The left-arm medium pacer has picked up 73 wickets in 48 ODIs at an average of 22.27, with an economy rate of 3.96 and a strike rate of 33.6. He has taken 33 wickets in as many matches in T20Is, at an average of 21.03 with an economy rate of 6.68. His story speaks volumes about how much one can achieve once the mind is set to do something and excel in more than one field of interest.
