Namibia Tour: Saurabh Netravalkar Returns for the USA Team

Steven Taylor was ruled out due to an injury

USA cricket team players / AP

By Caroline Chepkorir

The 33-year-old Saurabh Netravalkar was a star for the USA during the Men’s T20 World Cup. He picked up six wickets in as many matches. He is currently part of the team for the Namibia tour, which is happening this month.

The left-arm bowler missed the USA’s Netherlands tour as he was on paternity leave. During his absence from the T20I team, Ayan Desai was given a maiden call-up to the national team. However, Netravalklar will compete only in the ODI leg of the tour.

Meanwhile, Aaron Jones, the vice-captain, is currently playing for the St. Lucia Kings in the Caribbean Premier League, and he is not going to be part of the Namibia tour team. Andries Gous, a significant cricketer for the USA in the T20 World Cup, is selected for the Namibia tour, and he will have to cut short his time with the Trinbago Knights in the Caribbean Premier League.

Former captain Steven Taylor is ruled out of the upcoming Namibia Tour due to injury. Taylor has had a difficult time since he joined the Bangladesh tour. He has not scored a half-century in his last 13 international innings, which adds pressure to batsmen like Sai Teja Mukkamalla and Smit Patel.

Smit Patel had earned himself a spot in the T20I team after his brilliant performances in the ODIs in the Netherlands; he struck two half-centuries in four matches. After an extraordinary underwhelming campaign with the Texas Super Kings in MLC 2024 and after he demonstrated an impressive performance during the Netherlands tour, Milind Kumar is back in the T20I team.

This year the USA defeated Pakistan in the T20 championship tournament. Captain Monank Patel agreed that the victory was a big achievement that created opportunities for the USA team and the cricket community. Patel struggled on the Netherlands tour, and he would like to lead from the front in the Namibia tour.

“I am happy with the win. Playing against Pakistan for the first time in the World Cup and beating them was an unbelievable performance from our side. So yeah, I would say it's a big day for Team USA and the USA cricket community too,” said Captain Patel in media reports.

The USA will play ODIs against Namibia and the UAE from September 16 to 26, and the team will play four T20Is against both teams; these matches will be part of the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two 2023-2027.