USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar registers for IPL 2025 mega auction

The star pacer of the United States of America, Saurabh Netravalkar, garnered immense attention with his performance for the USA in the T20 World Cup 2024. He bowled the super over against Pakistan in the league game and defended 18 runs posted by the USA as they handed Pakistan an unforgettable defeat. Overall, the left-arm pacer played six games and picked as many wickets at an average of 20.83.

The 18^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is underway and before the actions, the franchises are braced up for the mega auction scheduled to be held on November 24 and 25 in Jeddah. In latest development, Netravalkar has enrolled himself in the roster of the players ready to go under the hammer. He has set a base price of 30 lakh and is set to be the first American to play an IPL game, if he gets picked.

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It is worth noting that, Netravalkar was born and brought up in India and also played for Mumbai in the under-19 team. He later shifted to the USA due to professional commitments and started working as a software engineer at renowned Oracle organisation. He had previously confessed that letting go of the dream to play for India or in IPL was a tough pill to swallow but made decisions when opportunity dried up.

"I trained hard with everybody's support, made it to the Mumbai team. I played for two seasons, but then I realised at the end of the second year, that I was in and out of the side and was not making it to the next stage, like the senior Indian team or an IPL contract. So I thought if I'm not making it to the next stage, then I should pursue my other passion. It was definitely very emotional for me to leave cricket and come here, but then I thought that it was the more practical call," Netravalkar said as quoted by India Today.