3 IPL teams who'd love to sign USA's Saurabh Netravalkar in 2025
USA left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar has made headlines in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup for all the right reasons. While he first made the news for bowling the decisive Super Over against Pakistan that his team won comfortably, he was lauded for picking up two wickets against India in New York on Wednesday.
The two wickets mentioned above were those of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - often considered to be the best batters of their generation - and this will make the seamer hot property in the franchise cricket market.
One can confidently say that IPL franchises will be keeping an eye on the 32-year-old seamer, who has played for the India Under-19 team in the past and knows the conditions of the subcontinent very well.
In this listicle, we take a look at three IPL franchises who will be interested in Netravalkar:
#1 Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals (RR), who were the winners of the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008, were knocked out of the playoffs of IPL 2024 by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The Jaipur-based franchise is known to make bets on lesser-known cricketers and although Netravalkar does not fit that label anymore, they will be keen on gambling on him.
Netravalkar offers them the option of a left-arm seamer who can get the ball to swing in the initial stages and then wield yorkers towards the slog end. RR will want to waste no time at all in snapping Netravalkar up in 2025.
#2 Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings had a less-than-desirable season in IPL 2024 and will be looking for fresh ideas going into the 2025 season, and no one can provide them better than Netravalkar. The left-arm seamer has made the headlines in the ongoing T20 World Cup with his accurate lengths and will prove to be a handy asset on their side.
Netravalkar has a mean yorker to go with his usual seam-up deliveries, and this sort of variety will endear him to the Chandigarh-based franchise.
The former India Under-19 seamer will be expected to gel well with the rest of the squad and contribute as much as he can towards the team's efforts to challenge for the IPL title.
#3 Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who scripted the most unlikely of comebacks in the recently concluded IPL 2024 to find a place in the playoffs, are desperately looking for good seamers.
Netravalkar will add a lot of quality to their bowling attack and provide them with the teeth to go after opposition teams. The USA seamer has the ability to get the ball to seam away from right-handers, and that is what makes him such a dangerous proposition to face.
RCB will be keen on snapping him up as it will allow them to restrict their opponents to low totals and take some of the glare away from their underperforming batting unit.