By Team USA has pulled off a stunning victory in cricket.
The Americans topped Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, the international competition featuring the 20 best teams in the world. Pakistan is an international powerhouse and was believed to be the favorite in Group A. The nation won the 2009 T20 World Cup and is tied with India for the second-most wins in T20 play all-time.
The United States team, much less heralded, is headlined by Saurabh Netravalkar. The left-armed medium-fast bowler has represented India in the past and currently is a bowler on Washington Freedom.
But that’s not his lone occupation. Netravalkar is also a principal software engineer for Oracle, one of the largest software companies in the world.
Here’s what you need to know about Netravalkar, USA’s star cricket player.
MORE: How USA stunned cricket world with win over Pakistan
Who is Saurabh Netravalkar?
Netravalkar is a 32-year-old cricketer who is a member of the United States men’s national cricket team. During the USA’s win over Pakistan, he bowled a super over to help power USA to the victory.
Where is Saurabh Netravalkar from?
Netravalkar was born in Mumbai, India, according to the India Times. He learned to play cricket while in Mumbai, and at age 17, he was named a member of the Mumbai Ranji team, according to the Economic Times.
Having earned his bachelor’s in computer engineering at the University of Mumbai, Netravalkar moved to the United States in 2015 when he attended Cornell University to pursue a master’s in computer science. He later moved to northern California to work for Oracle, according to ESPN CricInfo.
Netravalkar merged his passion for cricket with his experience in computer science. He created a cricket player analysis app called CricDecode in 2014, per ESPN CricInfo.
“I didn’t want the hours of engineering studies to go to waste,” Netravalkar told Hindustan Times, according to ESPN CricInfo. “That’s how I thought of developing the mobile app.”
Saurabh Netravalkar cricket career
Netravalkar played for Team India in the U19 World Cup back in 2010. He was the highest wicket-taker for India in the 2010 Under 19 World Cup, per the Economic Times.
After moving to California, Netravalkar began to commute to Los Angeles to play for Vijayta CC in the Southern California Cricket Association. He was selected by the United States national team ahead of the 2017-18 Regional Super50. There, he was the joint-leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets.
He continued to play for the squad in the 2018-19 ICC World Twenty20 Americas Qualifier. Ahead of the 2018-19 Regional Super50 Tournament, he was named a captain of the team, according to ESPN CricInfo. He also captained the team at the Division 2 U19 World Cup in April 2019, the 2018-19 ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier Regional Finals and the 2019 United Arab Emirates Tri-Nation Series.
Netravalkar has continued to be a key member of the U.S. cricket team in international competitions, appearing for the squad in the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier and playing in the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier B.
When Major League Cricket was founded in 2023, Netravalkar was drafted 23rd overall, landing in the fourth round, to the Washington Freedom in the inaugural draft.
Saurabh Netravalkar Oracle job
Netravalkar’s LinkedIn page lists him as having worked at Oracle since July 2016. He began as a member of the technical staff, moved up to a senior member of the staff in November 2018 and was promoted to principal member of the staff in February 2022.
As of 2023, Oracle is considered the second-largest publicly traded software company in the U.S. or Canada, trailing only Microsoft, according to Investopedia.
