‘He was so approachable, supported me a lot’ – Saurabh Netravalkar recalls playing under Yuvraj Singh’s captaincy [Exclusive]

Saurabh Netravalkar. (Source – Getty Images)

Saurabh Netravalkar was effusive in praise for Yuvraj Singh, who was his captain during his significant Air India stint ahead of the Under-19 World Cup in 2010.

Netravalkar was one of the standout performers for the USA during their remarkable T20 World Cup 2024 campaign in June. Before moving to the USA in search of greener pastures, Netravalkar played the Under-19 World Cup for India and bowled to the likes of Joe Root, Jos Buttler, and Ben Stokes, among others.

Netravalkar revealed that he played under Yuvraj’s captaincy for Air India during his teenage days as a sports scholarship player. The left-arm pacer recalled that he made it to the Under-19 World Cup squad on the back of a solid performance for the Air India side. Netravalkar said he was star-struck upon seeing Yuvraj from close quarters and thanked him for the support he gave him during his time in the team.

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“Yuvraj Singh, I played under his captaincy when I was 17 or 18 years old for Air India. So I used to be a sports scholarship player in Air India and he used to play one tournament. I was like star-boyed at that moment. I had fanboy moments with those players, like just getting to practice with them. I was grateful to have gotten a chance to be in the playing XI with them. Those were top players in the Indian team at that time,” Netravalkar said in an exclusive chat with CricTracker.

“We saw his six sixes. It was like a star-boy moment…he was so approachable and he supported me in that tournament a lot. And that tournament was a changing point for me in my career because that was kind of the first major tournament I played at the senior level, not age group. And I did well in that tournament and those performances actually helped me get picked in the Indian Under-19 World Cup team. So, it’s a special place for me in that tournament and Yuvi paaji was the captain of that team, so I am really grateful for that,” he added.

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The USA managed to reach the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 after beating Canada and Pakistan in the first round. Netravalkar bowled a phenomenal Super Over to orchestrate a nerve-wracking win against Pakistan. The 32-year-old earned a lot of plaudits from fans as well as experts for the way he held his nerves under pressure.