USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar got emotional as he returned to his childhood training spot — the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai — before the start of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
India beat USA by 29 runs in the opening clash of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Before the match, the official Instagram account of USA Cricket had shared a video which shows Netravalkar getting nostalgic at Wankhede.
About ‘Mumbai boy’ Saurabh Netravalkar
Mumbai-born AI engineer Saurbah Netravalkar once played for the Mumbai cricket team and even represented India in the 2010 U19 World Cup. Today, however, he is the star player of the USA cricket team.
Netravalkar earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Mumbai and went on to do a master’s from USA’s Ivy League Cornell University. In 2013, he developed an app called CricDeCode to help cricketers analyse their performance on field.
For the last eight years, he has worked at the computer technology company Oracle, where he is currently a principal member of the technical staff. (Also read: Ivy League degree, Oracle job, cricket career: Saurabh Netravalkar is every desi kid’s nightmare)
Along with being a full-time techie, he is a cricketer — in January 2018, he was selected in the United States national cricket team.
A full circle moment
{{/usCountry}}Along with being a full-time techie, he is a cricketer — in January 2018, he was selected in the United States national cricket team.
A full circle moment
{{/usCountry}}Ahead of the India vs USA match, Saurabh Netravalkar, who was born and brought up in Mumbai before moving to the USA, called playing at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium a nostalgic, full-circle moment, expressing excitement to perform in front of family and friends where he grew up learning cricket.
A video shared by USA Cricket shows Netravalkar getting emotional as he returned to his familiar childhood haunt.
“This used to be the spot where we trained and ran drills,” he was heard saying in the video.
Asked when he first visited Wankhede, Netravalkar replied, “I was came here at 14. I came in school days – 8th standard.”
“I would take the train from there to Churchgate and walk from the station. There used to be this gap — from the train, we’d look at the pitch and dream of playing on the ground one day. It’s emotional, actually,” he recalled.
On playing against India
Asked how it felt to be playing for team USA against India, Netravalkar said he was proud to represent the United States.
“We used to be there, in the home dressing room. It’s a little different here, I’m in the away dressing room. But I’m proud of this,” he said, pointing to the USA flag on his shirt.
“We’ll do our best,” added the Mumbai-born American cricketer.
(Also read: Mukesh Ambani offers tea to Rohit Sharma during India vs USA T20 clash. Watch)