[Exclusive] Haven't been contacted yet, but playing IPL would be a huge opportunity: Saurabh Netravalkar

Saurabh Netravalkar played for India in the 2010 Under-19 World Cup alongside the likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, among others. He moved to the USA in 2015 in search for greener pastures and secured a master's degree in computer science at Cornell University.

The left-arm seamer, who has always been fond of academics, landed a job at Oracle but his passion for cricket didn't let him stay away from the field for a long time. He captained the USA team a few years back but he made himself a household name in international cricket with his exceptional performances during the T20 World Cup 2024. Netravalkar's Super Over heroics against Pakistan earned the USA their most significant triumph in international cricket.

The 32-year-old recently opened up about his cricketing journey across two countries and his fondness for education during an exclusive interview with CricTracker. He also spoke about the impact of Major League Cricket (MLC) in enhancing cricket's craze in the USA.

Shall we call you a full-time cricketer and a part-time engineer or the other way round?

From childhood, I have been doing both. The craze for cricket was always there as I was born and brought up in Mumbai in a cricket-crazy community. Always had that dream of trying to climb the ladder in India and playing for India one day. At the same time, I used to enjoy my studies as well. Yeah, even right now, I train as I just try to manage my time. Try to find time for my training and my full-time job is still my software engineering job at Oracle. So, you could say that both full-time I'm doing. Trying my best to manage both.

How did you end up being a left-arm bowler and a right-handed batter?

I don't remember why I started bowling with the left hand. My dad taught me, I think, in my building where I used to live, how to play. But batting, I watched him and learned. So he is a right-handed batter. [I] naturally picked up batting right-handed. Bowling, I don't remember why I used the left hand. It was just natural Naturally, I'm left-handed. I write left-handed... Batting, I think right-handed, so you have a top hand, right? So the top hand is still the left hand when you bat right-handed. I still think it is not that unnatural. It's fine that I bat right-handed and bowl left-arm. 

After your Super Over heroics against Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2024, your singing videos garnered a lot of attention on social media. How do you feel about getting attention on fields other than cricket or your engineering job?

Firstly, I was very grateful for the overwhelming response and love that I received, especially after the World Cup games. Secondly, I wouldn't call myself a really good singer or anything. I'm not trained. I just sing for fun. But I mean, my intent is just to record and spread some positivity around of what good feelings I felt when I listened to that song, I just try to record and upload it. If that brings a smile on everybody's face, then that's good.

Can you tell us a bit more about your love for music?

So music, always loved it since childhood. I was never trained in it but it's like healing for me. It's a way to connect to my inner self. A way to connect to nature. That sort of puts you in a good mental state of mind, I think. So that's how I describe it and that then helps you when you enter those key pressure moments on the field. Even in anything in your life, it helps you keep you grounded, calm, humble. It depends on what kind of music you listen to. I usually listen to soft, spiritual music or '80s, '90s songs like Kishore Kumar and all those things. I like those kinds of songs.

Was the T20 World Cup 2024 win against Pakistan a kind of revenge as the Men in Green had defeated India in the quarterfinals of the Under-19 World Cup in 2010?

I actually had forgotten about that [laughs]. I didn't even think about that. I actually saw it in Insta and then I got reminded that, "Oh, yeah, that was against Pakistan we had lost in 2010." But, yeah, I mean 14 years had past and I had not thought about it that way. I was just looking to enjoy the opportunity and try to do my best for the team.

After your magical performance against Pakistan, #AbbaNahiManenge was trending because you were doing everything at once. Playing cricket without sacrificing your studies. Many youngsters would want to know how you convinced your parents.

Interesting, this is news to me. That's nice and creative [laughs]. My mom and dad have been very supportive of my journey. My dad himself is very passionate about cricket. He used to play cricket for his college as well. So he always was into cricket. And my mom used to be a professor of Home Science at a Graduate school at Churchgate, Mumbai. So, [it was] always from a background where we focused on education as well as sports... I think if the intent is there, and you enjoy what you do, you find good people who are willing to support you. My coaches, they supported me to give my exams and work around my practices and my professor helped me, like staying extra time with me to give the practical exams and all those things. I have written exams in literally the principal's cabin as well. So they have helped me a lot. My friends have helped me with my assignments, with submissions, all those things.

Right things happen at the right time. I think by God's grace, little bit clashes were there in between tournaments and exams but it was just enough to manage. For example, one main clash was my first semester engineering exam. It clashed with the Under-19 World Cup. I got picked for the Under-19 World Cup for the Indian team in 2010. I had to miss four of my six exams in first semester I got a KT. But next semester, I gave like 10 exams in a row. And there was no tournament. It was both, a mix of me willing to work harder and trying to sacrifice a little bit of my other things. But I loved these two things. So I was willing to do whatever it takes to pursue cricket and education.

If you love something, it doesn't feel like work anymore. Parents see that you are involved in it and they kind of help you. However, if it's an unconventional path, then there is a little bit of fear. Our parents want the best for us. They try to put us in a safe path but you need to show the confidence that I'm okay to think out of the box or I'm okay to take that path that is not taken by too many people. And you can be a pioneer in that path if you do well. So if you give that confidence then they will ultimately come around and support you.

Tech job requires analytical and problem-solving skills. Does a tech-freak mind translate the way of thinking onto the cricket field?

I think yeah, both go hand in hand for sure. An engineering mind, obviously you go through the grind. You learn how to think of every situation in your as a problem statement. And then you have certain resources at your disposal. In cricket, you have a certain skill that you have. You have your strengths and weaknesses, your opponent's strengths and weaknesses and what best can you do to maximise your success. You try to use what you've learned in your education as well.

Nowadays, especially in professional cricket, data analytics and video analysis plays a key role. Especially in international cricket, all the professional leagues. It definitely helps to be knowledgeable about that and for me, I'm a guy, I'm not express pace. I bowl 120-125 kph. My strength is to try and swing the ball and use the variations. So I try to be one step ahead. I sort of try to study the batter more and do my homework. So my education does help me on the sporting field.

Have you ever missed cricket matches to focus on your projects while working?

So, I would have missed a few matches, yes. Local games here and there. But mostly the good thing in the US is like, most of our games are on the weekends - Saturday and Sundays matches. The local matches i.e. the club matches, the tournaments that happen because a lot of people who play here, they have their own full-time jobs. So I am not the only one. I might be one of the few who is playing at the national team. But locally, there are a lot of engineers, lot of guys in the tech industry, who would have been playing club cricket in India and they play club cricket here. So most of the tournaments are in the weekends. At max, Friday, Monday. That's how it works here. So, year, mostly, you don't have to miss much.

For international cricket, in last two-three years, team has grown a lot. We have almost been playing four-five months in a year. So that has been a challenge. But I've again got very supporting management at Oracle, who have been understanding and have been able to accomodate working remotely, working flexibly around my times. So, yeah, it's manageable here. But few matches, yes, I do focus based on how important the tournament is and how important my projects are and what I need to prioritise. So it's a continuous process where I have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis and take it forward.

Suryakumar Yadav always supported you in your early days. He is now the T20 captain of Indian team. Did you get any leadership glimpse in him while being in the Mumbai setup?

Yes, I have been playing with him since we were under-15 for Mumbai. He was my captain in the Mumbai Ranji circuit as well when I played the 50-over tournament, Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was always an alpha figure and he used to dominate the age-group cricket; he used to score 200s and big runs. We always knew that he is something special.

I think he played much later for India than he should have. But he is easily one of the best T20 players in the world, I would say. Very happy for him and he has always been an outthinking player because he has those unorthodox shots that he plays. It's not easy to play those shots and to know what to play in which situation. So, that naturally requires a thinking mind alongside the ability to execute those courageous shots at that pace. So, yeah, I wish best for him. It's good to see him do well, yeah.

Also Read: Saurabh Netravalkar recalls playing under Yuvraj Singh's captaincy [Exclusive]

Was there any sort of rage in you to prove yourself when you restarted your cricketing career?

Yes, when I got picked in the US national team, I did have that. I badly wanted to play the 2023 50-over World Cup in India. I wanted US to qualify. I was the USA captain from 2018 to 2020, when we were playing the qualifying rounds. We made it to the final rounds of the qualifiers and we lost in the last round in Zimbabwe. We couldn't make it to the World Cup. But then, I had that "I need to prove myself, I need to show what I can do" [mindset. All those things. 

But when actually I would say I am grateful that we didn't qualify because I thought that wasn't the right mindspace to be in. So when my yoga journey started, I sort of realised that that's not the way you should be living. I don't have to prove anything to anybody. You need to be grateful for what you've got and even the struggles that you've had, you've learned something out of it, you've shaped yourself out of it. Some good things have happened. So a door is closed is in your life for a reason. Some other good door opens up. So when that journey started, I calmed myself down. I just tried to work on myself, trying to improve myself, my skills and naturally, these things happened and we got T20 World Cup opportunity in 2024 and actually when I didn't have anything on my mind, all these things happened by itself.

So, I think focusing and obsessing on the result that you want to do this, it will actually put more stress on you. And if it doesn't happen, you will feel more disappointed. So instead of that, if you focus on what's in your control. It's you trying to improve your skills everyday, trying to get better as a person and the outcomes will automatically start happening because the universe will see that you are putting an effort genuinely to cleanse yourself, to improve your thoughts, to get better as a person, and then external things will start happening automatically.

We have seen wives of sportspersons sacrifice a lot for their partners. However, your better half is quite an achiever herself. How do you two manage to do so many things?

She also works at Oracle. We met in college in graduate school. Yeah, she loves dance, she loves these things. She is very creative and stuff. So yeah, we get along well together. It's nice, yeah.

Also Read: Who is Saurabh Netravalkar's wife Devi Snigdha Muppala?

So you manage your job and cricket, while she manages her job and her passion for dancing.

We live about five minutes from our office. There is a gym in our office and a dance studio as well. So, it's like if you look at it, there is enough time. In the morning, we do yoga. Actually, now, I'm working from home, I don't go to office also. So when you're working from home, you have that flexibility. Do a bit of cooking, have lunch, go to gym in the evening. 4-5 o'clock, you're done with work. In India, the bottleneck is travel. Especially in Mumbai. 1-2 hours of travelling up and down and then you're so tired that you want to rest.

But over here, if you're office is done at 5, you're home at 5:30. So, you have the entire evening to you. In the evening, I used to do cricket training from 7-9. Gym would be 5-6 in the office. So there is more time here, if I look at it. Travel time gets cut off a lot. If you live close to work or if you're not going to work, if you're working from home, which in my case is true right now. So you can get more time to enjoy your work at home. In work from home, you can take a one-hour break, you play music or do something else. At home, you can cook, you can work, you can manage. That way I'm grateful because I get flexibility here. Everyone doesn't get it. I'd say I'm little lucky as well but, yeah, I mean travel time in India is a lot for most of the people. So I understand. It gets tiring, I've been in India. To travel by train, to go for the match. So you return home at 9 or 10. You get tired and you say, "Now get up early in the monrning next day. So it is a bit hard over there, yes.

Coming to the India versus USA match, how did you plan Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's wickets. It was Kohli's first golden duck in T20 World Cups. What were your plans?

I didn't plan anything specific because mostly with the new ball, my plan is to swing the ball in and out, pitch it around on a good length outside off-stump. And the New York pitch was helpful for fast bowlers. We fielded second and Arshdeep, who is also a left-arm seamer, picked up four wickets in the first innings. I got a good chance to see what he was doing and my thinking was similar. To hit those lengths and maximise the chance. Outcome is not in your control. Virat Kohli can also hit a good ball for a six, that is alright. The goal was to give my best. If it comes out well, then it bodes well for the team because we were defending a low score. Trying is in our hands. I'm grateful that I got the edge and got the wicket. There wasn't any specific thinking that I would get him out this way or that way.

[For Rohit] Special plan was just about the field. I have two balls, in-swing and out-swing. How to mix it up so that he doesn't expect the delivery - that was the plan. I think he was expect in-swing and I got a bit of an out-swinger there and he got a leading edge. But the pitch was such that the ball stopped on him and came to him slower than he expected. It was two-paced wicket. I think on any other day, that could have gone for six. It was just a good day for me, I think.

Do you have a dream wicket?

This used to happen before, that's what I was saying. I used to think like that before. But now I don't think like that at all. I only think about how I can win matches for my team and what I can do to help my team come out victorious. What I have to do in my role. If I get a wicket in that role, then it's good. In T20 game, you don't think that you have to take a particular player's wicket because it depends on the situation. What would be the best ball in a particular situation. I think like this now.

What has been the impact of MLC on American cricket?

I think MLC impacted us big time. Last year, especially, it was the first season and we got to play at that level with top-quality players in the world, I'd say. It was a feeling like the IPL, as those players were playing here with us. So we got the opportunity to practice and play matches with them. With the advent of the league, top-quality stadiums were built here. We understood how they train, how they practice. This year, the MLC was much bigger. Coach Ricky Ponting was here, Steve Smith was here, Pat Cummins was here. So top-quality players were here. So it is growing, like exponentially it is growing.

Hopefully, next year it will be even bigger. So it is an invaluable experience. Not only for us because of the way teams practice, like I used to say I had bowled to Rohit bhai in Mumbai at the nets. So here, in the nets, only the players from the teams do not come. Kids also come here and get the experience to bowl to Steve Smith. So an entire ecosystem has been prepared. Kids are also getting better because they are getting exposure of practice sessions. Then more kids will come and play for the national team and do well and grow locally. Hopefully, more grounds will be formed. We played on two grounds this year. Hopefully we will play on four grounds, six grounds gradually as more stadiums are built. Fan awareness will increase. It's in a growing stage, like a start-up. It will only grow.

Cricket is returning to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. Do you think USA can get a medal at the cricket event?

I think it will go hand-in-hand. It is going to be important for us to see how we invest in the next four years. It should all go hand-in-hand. Along with infrastructure, increasing the quality of local tournaments. Apart from [MLC], most of the tournaments are played on astro turf or synthetic pitches. If we can increase the standards of local cricket, then local players will get exposure to good players. The number of tournaments are increasing, there are 4-5 good cricket tournaments. Hopefully, it will increase but four years is a good enough time to build a good team. Whether we will win a medal or not, we don't know because top teams like India, Australia will be coming with their top players but we can build a good team which can compete and fight. 

Let's talk about your IPL ambitions. Has any of the franchises dialed your number? Is there any particular team you want to play for?

I mean, opportunity, any opportunity would be great. But I haven't contacted anybody or anything like that. But yeah, I'm open to playing anywhere. If I get an opportunity, it's one of the top leagues in the world. And in India, it will be a dream come true if I do get an opportunity. So, fingers crossed, I'll see. Let's see how it goes.