Forged in Mumbai, shining in Dallas

Saurabh Netravalkar the Goregaon lad who bowled the Super Over to win the ICC T20 World Cup match for USA against Pakistan on Thursday is reaping the rewards of his hard work Talk to those who have played with him in Mumbai and they say in chorus ldquoSaurabh is a hardworking cricketer and was very good academicallyrdquoSaurabh Netravalkar celebrates USArsquos victory over Pakistan in Texas on Thursday PicGetty ImagesLeftarm spinner Gaurav Jathar with whom Netravalkar played U19 cricket for Mumbai and India could not help recall their U19 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Pakistan in January 2010 Jathar who is in constant touch with Netravalkar told midday ldquoBeating Pakistan on the biggest stage isnrsquot easy I messaged Saurabh and Harry Harmeet Singh When we played in the U19 World Cup and lost to Pakistan in the quarterfinals I told Saurabh lsquoit beating Pakistan was long due Good to see you and Harry give it back to themrsquo Saurabh replied lsquowe were thinking about the U19 daysrsquordquoAlso ReadNetravalkar chased wickets and booksA scholarly personJathar 33 said ldquoThe work Saurabh is doing is part of his dedication to cricket He is one of the most scholarly people Irsquove known Irsquove never heard of the USA playing cricket until he went there and started promoting the game To manage his cricket after his working hours is itself an achievement that too on the big stage against PakistanrdquoOn Netravalkarrsquos inclination to academics Jathar recalled ldquoHe had his CET in a week We were busy with State and national camps and had no chance to open the books I said to him to just appear for the exams To everyonersquos shock he secured 191200rdquoGaurav Jathar Onkar Gurav Aditya Tare and Vinayak ManeAditya Tare a former Mumbai captain who kept wickets in the lone Ranji Trophy that Netravalkar played against Karnataka in 201314 said ldquoSaurabhrsquos bowling was accurate he was very particular in how he prepared He knew his limitations and because he was smart he managed to succeed Netravalkar uses his angles going around the wicket brilliantly as he doesnrsquot get the ball inrdquolsquoDestiny and hard workrsquoAnother of Netravalkarrsquos teammates in Mumbai gloveman Onkar Gurav attributed the bowlerrsquos success to ldquodestiny and hard workrdquo Currently the fielding coach of Mumbai Ranji Trophy team Gurav 35 said ldquoGood to see the Mumbai attitude in the USA When I played with him he was very studious very disciplined and bowled long spells He was deceptive in his line and length and knew how to make it difficult for batsmen On the ground he gave more than 100 per cent and off it he was immersed in his books Irsquom very happy to see both the guys from Mumbai doing well for USA It is a proud moment for a MumbaikarrdquoFormer Mumbai captain and opener Vinayak Mane captained Netravalkar at Bharat Petroleum ldquoAlong with Suryakumar Yadav and Jathar Saurabh was taken on scholarship but missed out on employment due to medical reasons I was very happy to have his commitment to the game when he played for BPCL He was hardworking disciplined and committed He had his tough times but never gave up I am very happy for him Someone we recruited as a youngster is now winning a match against Pakistanrdquo