USA CRICKET

Saurabh Netravalkar returns to international cricket for Namibia tour

by   •  Last updated on
Netravalkar will only be available for the ODI leg of the Namibia tour
Netravalkar will only be available for the ODI leg of the Namibia tour © AFP

Saurabh Netravalkar, who shot to prominence during the T20 World Cup, will return to international cricket after parenting duties saw him miss the USA's Netherlands tour in August. The 33 year-old fast bowler, however, is only set to feature for the ODI leg of the and has been granted leave for the T20Is for reasons similar to the ones that had him miss the Netherlands tour. Netravalkar's absence has catapulted 21-year-old left arm seamer Ayan Desai into the T20I side for the first time. Desai, the U23 pick for Seattle Orcas got a solitary game in the final league game against the Texas Super Kings and dismissed big fishes Devon Conway and Marcus Stoinis in a spell of 2 for 30.

USA are set to miss the services of vice captain Aaron Jones after Jones opted to prioritise his CPL stint with St Lucia Kings. It is understood that Andries Gous, who has been turning out for Trinbago Knight Riders this CPL, found himself at similar crossroads to eventually settle for his international commitments over the CPL. Gous is now poised to make his ODI debut in Namibia after making his maiden appearance to the ODI squad.

Former captain Steven Taylor has been ruled out of the tour due to an injury. The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for Taylor, who has been battling form since the start of the Bangladesh series. The left hander has failed to score a fifty in his last 13 international innings as he finds a slew of top order batsmen breathing down his neck including the likes Sai Teja Mukkamalla and Smit Patel. Smit has been rewarded with a T20I berth after his exploits in the ODIs in Netherlands, which saw him impress with 2 half centuries in 4 games.

Milind Kumar finds similar favours after an all round show in the ODIs on the Netherlands tour. The 33-year-old was ejected out of the T20I squad after the T20 World Cup but parachutes in on the back of his performances in the ODIs. Sushant Modani, 35, makes a startling comeback to the ODI team after an year. Modani, who has remained undrafted in both the MLC seasons, has been inexplicably preferred over MLC performers like Shehan Jayasuriya, Unmukt Chand and Sanjay Krishamurthy.

Some of the non selections reeks off an increasing wedge in the selection ideologies of USA Cricket and MLC. While the board seems inclined to prefer cricketers who are 'products' of club cricket in America, it's disdain towards top performers of MLC and Minor League is prejudicial and quite frankly egregios.

USA Squad for CWC League 2 ODIs:

Monank Patel (Captain), Andries Gous, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Milind Kumar, Nosthusha Kenjige, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Smit Patel, Sushant Modani, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shayan Jahangir, Shadley Van Schakwyk, Utkarsh Srivastava, Yasir Mohammad.

The squad for T20Is:

Monank Patel (Captain), Andries Gous, Abhishek Paradkar, Ayan Desai, Harmeet Singh, Juanoy Drysdale, Milind Kumar, Nitish Kumar, Nosthusha Kenjige, Jasdeep Singh, Smit Patel, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Shayan Jahangir, Utkarsh Srivastava, Yasir Mohammad.

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