(PTI Photo)
On Friday, Suryakumar Yadav shared an Instagram story praising Saurabh Netravalkar’s outstanding performance against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
On Friday, Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav lauded his former Mumbai teammate and current USA cricket team member Saurabh Netravalkar for his remarkable performance in the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday. The Indian-origin player displayed nerves of steel during the Super Over, successfully defending 19 runs as the USA achieved their most significant international victory to date, marking perhaps the most significant upset in the 17-year history of the T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav expressed his admiration for Saurabh Netravalkar’s performance against Pakistan in the Group A match through an Instagram story on Friday. He also sent warm wishes to Netravalkar’s family in Mumbai. The two cricketers had previously shared the dressing room for Mumbai in domestic cricket nearly a decade ago. Additionally, Netravalkar represented India in the U19 World Cup in 20109, alongside players like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Jaydev Unadkat.
The post read: “Saurabh Netravalkar, tula maanla bhau (I respect you, brother). Very happy for you and your family back home.”
While Suryakumar Yadav climbed the ranks in domestic cricket and earned a place in the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, where he became a key player and eventually secured his spot in the Indian T20I team, Saurabh Netravalkar took a different path. Despite limited opportunities in India, Netravalkar moved to the USA, where he pursued a master’s degree in Computer Science from Cornell University and landed a job as a software engineer at Oracle, a leading technology firm. However, his passion for cricket never waned. In 2019, he made his international debut for the USA and played a pivotal role in their historic victory on Friday.
On June 12, Suryakumar Yadav is scheduled to face Netravalkar when India meets the USA in New York for their third league match of the T20 World Cup.
