It is only four games into the new season of Major League Cricket, but Saurabh Netravalkar has already gone past his tally of 10 wickets in the previous campaign. He has picked up 12 wickets for us so far this season at an astonishing average of 9.16 runs per wicket and a strike rate of 7.66.

Netravalkar, who had a successful T20 World Cup 2024 campaign for the United States, has brought his rich vein of form into the MLC. The left-arm pacer was the USA’s top wicket-taker in the showpiece event with six wickets from six matches.

Netravalkar averaged 20.83 and took a wicket every three overs he bowled (strike rate of 18.83) in the T20 World Cup. In a group where the USA were not even favorites to proceed to the Super 8, he, along with our wicketkeeper-batter Andries Gous, who finished as the USA’s top run-getter, took the team to the next round in a fairytale start to the country’s journey at ICC events.

The Mumbai-born Netravalkar earned accolades for his performance against Pakistan, where he bowled a high-pressure super over to win a thriller, and against India, getting the prized wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Consistent Performances

Netravalkar had a tally of 10 wickets from six matches in MLC 2023, averaging 1.67 wickets per match. He picked up a wicket every 15.90 runs he conceded and for every 13.10 deliveries he bowled in the last edition.

Our pacer finished as the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker overall in MLC 2023, with his 6/9 against the San Francisco Unicorns being the best figures recorded by any bowler in the MLC to date.

Coming into a new season, Netravalkar has become more lethal and consistent for us. His average wickets per match has moved up to three from 1.67 last year. The runs conceded per wicket has come down from 15.90 to 9.16 and balls per wicket has also reduced sharply from 13.10 to 7.66 compared to last year.

 

Netravalkar’s economy has also marginally improved from 7.28 runs an over in 2023 to 7.17 currently. His clever variations and change of pace have made it difficult for batters to score against him with the dot-ball percentage going up from 42.75% last year to 52.17% this year.

 

Netravalkar has had an excellent season so far in the MLC this year and his performance in the upcoming matches will be vital for us to go the distance.