USA allrounder Saurabh Netravalkar has admitted that while the child in him expected that he would be picked up by one IPL team in the mega auction, he is satisfied that he at least could make it till the final list of players up for sale. He had enlisted himself for a base price of Rs 30 lakh but didn't get any buyers over the two days of the mega auction.

Netravalkar rose to prominence with consistent outings in last year's Major League Cricket, which was boosted by a brilliant campaign with the USA team at the 2024 T20 World Cup. He was key in defeating Pakistan and suddenly, everyone knew who Netravalkar was.

Given his skill set, one had expected him to be a star player at the auction who was available for a low price, but surprisingly, he didn't find any takers.

"Firstly, grateful for getting shortlisted in the final auction list. Yes, the child in me had hopes for sure! But, it was a high-quality player pool with so many top players also failing to make the cut, so I completely understand," Netravalkar said while speaking to The Times of India.

"Looking forward to watching the season which I’m sure will be filled with the highest quality of cricket and I’ll keep working harder and trying to get better and come back stronger hopefully next year," Netravalkar added.

Netravalkar was last seen in action in the Men's Cricket World Cup League 2, in a game against Nepal earlier last month. He picked 4/47 and was adjudged the player of the match.

"I have known Rohit bhai and Surya since my days in Mumbai and it was nice to meet up with them. They also appreciated our efforts and that means a lot as well. Similarly, we exchanged greetings with all other Indian players," Netravalkar said.

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