(AP Photo)
Up to seven members of the USA T20 World Cup roster either hail from India or have significant ties to the country. Among them, Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh boast previous appearances for India at the U19 World Cup. Batter Milind Kumar brings a wealth of experience with over 100 matches in first-class and List-A cricket for Delhi and Sikkim. The remaining players, including Nosthush Kenjige, Monank Patel, Jasdeep Singh, and Nisarg Patel, have honed their skills through age-group competitions or club cricket in India.
Their contribution has been pivotal in elevating the USA cricket team to a formidable status. Already, they’ve captured attention in the T20 World Cup, securing victories against Canada and Pakistan. Currently positioned second in Group A, they merely need to triumph in one of their remaining two group matches to advance to the Super 8 stage in the West Indies. However, facing India in their upcoming match will pose a distinct challenge. Not only are the Indian team the strongest in the group and considered contenders for the championship, but also because several members of the USA squad once aspired to represent India at this elite level.
“Team India, welcome to the United States of America. If we play our best game, we can sort of compete against top cricketers. So we’ll try to take one game at a time and not get overwhelmed by the star-studded team players and try to bowl to a batsman or bat against a bowler. We’ll try to keep it simple,” said Netravalkar.
“You dream about this kind of thing and suddenly you see yourself with Rohit Sharma on the toss time. It’s unreal. It’ll be a high-pressure game. Honestly, we don’t want to focus too much from right now. We want to play the brand of cricket. We want to play against all the teams,” said USA’s Gujarat-born captain Monank Patel.
“Growing up, I used to look up at Rohit Sharma. Rohit comes from my school. I’ll take things as it comes. Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav, I have played under 19 with them in India. Axar Patel, I’ve played with him as well. So, it’ll be fun catching up and playing against as well,” said Harmeet Singh.
“Obviously, we look forward. When we grew up, we were looking forward to play for the country, but things changed, and now we are playing against them. But on the ground, there are no friends. you’re there to win,” said Milind Kumar.
“When I was in India, I wanted to put on the Indian jersey, but as you grow up and life happens to you, you just move to a different country. And now the next best thing you can do is play against India. So I would take this anyway ten out of ten times. I think it’s a massive opportunity as a kid growing up, you want to be in the World Cup, sits here. So, yeah, I think nothing to be more just looking forward to it,” said Nosthush Kenjige.
