MUMBAI, Feb. 4 -- The most beautiful thing about a World Cup is that it provides you the platform to become an instant star. When you pick the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma cheaply in your country's first international game against India, recognition is guaranteed. It becomes all the more special if the bowler had grown up in the same country as these superstars. That is what Saurabh Netravalkar enjoyed at the 2024 T20 World Cup playing for his adopted country, USA, after his 2/18 in a league game against India. At that moment, it looked like there wouldn't be anything better in his cricket career. A software engineer from Mumbai who had opted for an engineering career over playing cricket despite having finished the highest wicket-taker for India at the 2010 ICC U19 World Cup, it seemed the end of Netravalkar's career when he took the flight to the USA in 2015. He had played Ranji Trophy for Mumbai where India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav was a teammate, but intense competition meant opportunities were limited. Life has come full circle for the 34-year-old left-arm pacer who is set to play against India in the World Cup opener at his home ground, Wankhede Stadium, on Saturday. "If you look at it in a material sense, yes, it could be like life coming full circle because I started in Mumbai and life has brought me again to India. It will be a special game for me. I was born and brought up in Mumbai, and my family will be there. In that sense if all goes well from now, it would definitely be special," says Netravalkar, who grew up in the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon. "There are so many special memories of Wankhede. I have grown up practicing there, starting with the Mumbai U-15 team off-season camps. But I haven't played too many matches there. In that sense it will be a good opportunity for me to finally play at the ground at international level," says the USA new-ball bowler. Netravalkar admits that 10 years ago he had no hope of playing cricket again when he left for the US to pursue a Masters degree at Cornell University, New York. Cricket was a game alien to the Americans, and limited to a small section of the Indian diaspora playing it as a hobby. "When I gave up on cricket and moved to the US for studies, let alone international cricket, I didn't know if I would ever get to play the game again. It has been a long journey from 2015. in the last two years I got to play a World Cup in the US, which is my home right now. There too we played against India, which was a special opportunity." Coming to cricket, it can't get any better for a bowler than getting Kohli and Rohit cheaply in a World Cup game. What did it mean to him? "While playing the game I didn't think about it too much, I was just trying to execute my plans. The balls were executed well and the plan came up nicely. The two legends, one can say two of the best batters of our generation across formats. I have known Rohit bhai since my Mumbai days, I used to bowl to him in the nets. After the game too we spoke. He appreciated (my bowling) so it was nice to get the opportunity. I consider myself lucky because now they are not playing T20Is. It was good to play at the same stage with them and perform." Having also picked up 2/18 in USA's big upset win over Pakistan, his performances in the two big games brought him under the spotlight. His social media followers shot up and videos of his music went viral. The big challenge for amateur cricketers, however, is that sport is not paying enough to pursue as a career. Even during the tournament and camps, Netravalkar has to devote time to his job as a software engineer at Oracle. So, how does he balance work and cricket? "It is about compartmentalising the time. When I am at home, I usually go to the gym three days a week, which is in the office itself. I practice twice a week, I will go during lunch. When I am on tour, I will mostly work around practice. If I have afternoon training, I will work a few hours in the morning. During tournaments I get leave. Especially after the World Cup, it has helped me a lot, the company has been very supportive. So far managing, but it is case-by-case. Every week, every month I plan, no hard and fast rule."...